Ater card platforms suspended Russian clients'' access to merchants overseas, the link between plastic and politics has acquired a more serious dimension.
Read more about Plastic nationalism: Can India really shelve Visa and Mastercard for RuPay on Business Standard. Ater card platforms suspended Russian clients'' access to merchants overseas, the link between plastic and politics has acquired a more serious dimension.

Can India really overthrow Visa, Mastercard?

01:15am, Monday, 14'th Mar 2022 Economic Times India
Long before the war in Ukraine, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that international card networks could be used as instruments of statecraft — and that he should channel the rising economic power of his country’s 1.4 billion people to resist the dominance of Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and American Express Co. “Everyone cannot go to the border for the security of the nation,” Modi said in a 2018 speech. “If you develop a habit of using RuPay card … that will also become a medium to serve the nation.” Like Russia’s Mir and China UnionPay Co., RuPay is a homegrown card network, promoted by the National Payments Corporation of India since 2012. New Delhi has pushed it so aggressively over the last few years that a worried Visa Inc. has complained to the U.S. government about the lack of an even playing field in India, according to Reuters. Mastercard has grumbled as well. Meanwhile, Discover Financial Services’ Diners Club as well as Mastercard and American Express have gotten into regulatory trouble with the Reserve Bank of India over data localization rules.The decision by global card firms to boycott Russia over its invasion of Ukraine may amplify nationalist sentiments.

Parpera & Railspay launch Australia''s first embedded finance business debit card

01:13am, Monday, 14'th Mar 2022 PR Newswire Asia (English)
SYDNEY , March 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Parpera , a money management platform for sole traders, freelancers, and startup founders, has launched Australia''s first embedded finance business experience using a debit card linked directly to deposit accounts, in partnership with Railspay (the Australian arm of Railsbank ) and Volt . (L-R): Ben Smith, Railsbank APAC COO, and Daniel Cannizzaro, Parpera Founder & CEO The Parpera Business Debit Mastercard® card is now available to Australian sole traders, who will be able to use the Parpera App and debit card experience to better manage their business payments, make fee-free international transactions, and control their spend. The card can now be added to Google Pay, and in Q2 it will also be available to Australian companies and on ApplePay. Daniel Cannizzaro , Parpera Founder & CEO, said: "The launch of our business debit card marks a significant milestone for Parpera and Australian business owners, who have been under-served and unfairly treated when it comes to their finances for far too long. "Having to pay on average 3 to 4 percent fees on top of international card payments, waiting weeks for a business debit card, and being forced to use their personal card to cover business expenses are all examples of how business owners needlessly suffer. "Parpera offers business owners access to a much fairer and more transparent fully-digital offering with banking, cards, invoicing, money, and tax insights, all in the one app.

''Things will only get worse.'' Putin''s war sends Russians into exile

11:22pm, Sunday, 13'th Mar 2022 The Straits Times
March 14, 2022 7:22 AM ISTANBUL (NYTIMES) - They lined up at ATMs, desperate for cash after Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia, swapping intelligence on where they could still get dollars.

Yuan Deposits Soar At Russian Banks After SWIFT Cut-Off

08:15pm, Sunday, 13'th Mar 2022 Zero Hedge
Yuan Deposits Soar At Russian Banks After SWIFT Cut-Off With Russia now officially cut off from both the USDollar and the euro, Russia''s VTB Bank is seeing a surge in Chinese Yuan deposits , attracted by the bank offering significantly higher interest rates as Putin shifts focus to ''friendly'' nations. The state-owned bank is offering a Chinese yuan savings account with a maximum interest rate of 8% , hailing the currency as "one of the most affordable and promising options for investing funds" after the country was hit by Western sanctions. Putting that in context, the three-month deposit rate is 8% in dollars and 7% in euros, while the six-month rate for ruble deposits is 21%, according to VTB. Existing customers are reportedly able to open deposits remotely on VTB Online with a minimum amount of 100 yuan ($16) . At VTB branches, they can deposit a minimum of 500 yuan. VTB also said that over the past week customers have placed more than 2 trillion rubles ($15 billion) in traditional savings products. “Some Russian banks can’t get access to other currencies, so yuan is probably the best other alternative,” Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, told Bloomberg . “Still, the easiest way for Russia to raise yuan would be to receive yuan via trades.
Photo Illustration by Kristen Hazzard/The Daily Beast/Getty Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has done more than leave the ruble without a cause. “I don’t have enough to take a shit,” gripes Vadim fumbling for the 60 rubles, about 44 cents, needed to unlock the pay toilet at the Khoroshevo railway station. Three weeks into the war, Russia’s financial constipation is unmistakable. The West first sanctioned the country’s banking sector. The global financial system then took command and gridlocked practically every money thoroughfare between Russia and the rest of the world. Visa and Mastercard evaporated. Google and Apple shut off their digital payment systems. Insurance policies vanished. The Big Mac is no more. And now, in St. Petersburg, Sveta—whose name has been changed for her safety like everyone in this story—is seeking blossoms imported from the Netherlands. Read more at The Daily Beast.

Rickards: The Sanctions Boomerang & Putin''s Options

02:20pm, Saturday, 12'th Mar 2022 Zero Hedge
Rickards: The Sanctions Boomerang & Putin''s Options Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoninig.com, Putin’s Options There’s no doubt that the financial sanctions put on Russia by the U.S., the U.K., EU members and others are the most severe ever imposed. The U.S. Treasury has announced 15 separate sanctions programs in recent days and no doubt more are on the way. The targets of these sanctions include Russian banks, Russian stocks and bonds and various payment channels. Most significantly, the U.S. froze the accounts of the Central Bank of Russia. That’s the first time a major central bank’s assets have been frozen since the Cold War, and possibly ever. Yet the financial attacks on Russia go far beyond official sanctions. Numerous private companies including Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, Shell and some major airlines have ceased their business activities in Russia. Visa and Mastercard have stopped accepting credit card charges from Russia. Google and Apple have turned off the mobile payment apps on phones held by Russian citizens.
Western sanctions in Russia keep increasing across the board, with several companies announcing their withdrawal from the territory, including Mastercard

Sony Pictures Entertainment has paused business operations in Russia

07:37pm, Friday, 11'th Mar 2022 Business Recorder
Sony Pictures Entertainment said Friday that it has paused business operations in Russia, two weeks after the studio suspended theatrical releases in the country. In a message to staff, Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Tony Vinciquerra wrote that the studio would halt planned home entertainment releases, including "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and any future television distribution deals. Crunchyroll also suspended its anime streaming service in Russia. Visa, Mastercard suspend operations in Russia "Our thoughts and prayers remain with those who have been impacted and it is our hope that a peaceful resolution can be found soon," Vinciquerra wrote. Sony Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. The film studio''s decision to suspend operations, amid growing concerns about the violence in Ukraine, follows similar steps earlier this week by Sony Music and Sony Interactive Entertainment, which halted software and hardware shipments.

Binance Suspends Transactions With Russian Mastercard and Visa Cards

09:00am, Friday, 11'th Mar 2022 Crypto Breaking News
Crypto exchange Binance has blocked transactions with Mastercard and Visa cards issued in the Russian Federation. The trading platform announced the move after the American payment giants decided to halt operations in Russia over its military invasion of Ukraine. Russians Unable to Use Their Mastercard and Visa Cards on Binance Starting on Wednesday, March 9, […] The post Binance Suspends Transactions With Russian Mastercard and Visa Cards appeared first on Crypto Breaking News .
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has blocked transactions with Mastercard and Visa cards issued in the Russian Federation.
Whitehead: The Rise Of Global Fascism And The End Of The World As We Know It Authored by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.” - “ The Hollow Men ,” T.S. Eliot Barely three years into the 2020s, and we seem to be living out the prophesies of the Book of Revelation with its dire warnings about plague, poverty, hatred and war. Just as the government hysteria over the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be dying down, new threats have arisen to occupy our attention and fuel our fears: food shortages, spiking inflation, rocketing gas prices, and a Ukraine-Russia conflict that threatens to bring about a world war. Is this the end of the world as we know it? Or is this the beginning of the end of the world? Will the world end with a bang or will it end, as T.S. Eliot concludes, with a whimper ? Robert Frost, torn between a vision of the world ending in fire (the hot flame of violence, anger and greed) or ice (the cold burn of hatred), suggests that either would suffice to do the job .
Polish Ambassador Says Sanctions On Russia Should "Last For A Decade, Maybe 15 Years" Poland’s Ambassador to the United States, Marek Magierowski, wants the new US and EU-led sanctions on Russia which came in the aftermath of its Feb.24 invasion of Ukraine to last for ten or up to 15 years. He described in a live interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday that the sanctions should "last for a decade, maybe 15 years." Also amid allegations that Russian forces are targeting hospitals, which are similar to claims made in Aleppo during Russia''s prior years'' military action there, Magierowski cited "acts of barbarism in Ukraine" that he called "war crimes, atrocities." Poland’s Ambassador to the US, Marek Magierowski On this point, he said, "I do believe and I am confident that Mr. Putin and his cronies and all his closest aides will end up in the dock, in the Hague, in the International Criminal Court, because this is what he has already fully deserved," according to CNN. Here''s what he told Amanpour in the interview on how long-lasting Russia''s total economic isolation should be: “I think that if we wanted to retaliate for that invasion against Ukraine with punitive measures and by crippling the Russian economy, we have to be determined and ready to uphold the sanctions in a longer term .
The post Here’s Why Russian-Issued MasterCard and Visa Cards Are Now Unusable on Binance Crypto Exchange appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com . Crypto exchange Binance says that MasterCard and Visa cards issued in Russia cannot be used on its platform after the payments giants decided to suspend their operations in the sanction-hit…
Click to get the best stock tips daily for free!

Top Fintech Company

StockInvest.us featured in The Global Fintech Index 2020 as the top Fintech company of the country.

Full report by FINDEXABLE