Earlier quoted context omitted.
> shutting down credit card payments will likely impact large portions of online payments. I can't think of a way to reply to this without being trite or insulting, but genuinely, what do you think is the point of a sanction?
My first reaction was "this is going to force a bunch of people to use cash again" But the, maybe obvious to you not to me, consequence is that this could shutdown the entire online marketplace in Russia (at least in the short term) Also I'm not sure I'd call it a sanction since it's coming from a private company, not a government. If I were any country right now I'd also take it as a warning to not depend on Masterc…
It's following sanctions, which blacklist all big Russian banks and remove them from international banking and financing arrangements. Even if Visa/MasterCard aren't explicitly prohibited from dealing in Russia, how are they supposed to move money around with the sanctions in place? It's because of the sanctions.
> If I were any country right now I'd also take it as a warning to not depend on Mastercard or Visa given the immense power they hold
They can try not invading other countries, that seems to do the trick. Joking aside, countries like France have their own independent networks ( Carte Bleue in France) over which payments pass in some scenarios ( honestly couldn't tell, but for instance there are weird cards from some banks that only work on the CB network and don't outside of France, even if they're supposedly Visa/MC).