Mastercard blocks multiple financial institutions from the payments network

Statement from Mastercard CEO, Michael Miebach

The invasion by Russian military forces over the past week has been devastating for the people of Ukraine. Our thoughts continue to be with those impacted.

Our first priority has been the well-being of our employees and their families. Our teams are working around the clock to help secure their safety, using all the resources at our disposal. We will keep our employees in mind throughout the region as we navigate through this crisis.

As a result of sanction orders, we have blocked multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network. We will continue to work with regulators in the days ahead to abide fully by our compliance obligations as they evolve.

Given the unfolding emergency, we are also working with our partners to direct funding and humanitarian aid where it can provide the greatest impact. Today, we announced a $2 million contribution to the Red Cross, Save the Children and our employee assistance fund for humanitarian relief. We will actively pursue additional opportunities to assist aid organizations to play our part in supporting the global relief effort.

Of the many roles we play, among the most important is ensuring the safety and security of the global payments ecosystem and our own network. Our Cyber & Intelligence and Corporate Security teams are working with governments and partners around the world to ensure the stability, integrity and resiliency of our systems, which are operating as normal. We are committed to active monitoring and rapid response to cyber-attacks, the threat of which is heightened significantly in the present environment.