Banks in Several Countries Cease Service for UnionPay Cards

Banks in the UAE and Turkey have stopped servicing Russian UnionPay cards issued by Gazprombank. It was recently reported that this service has also been halted in Thailand, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, China, and Qatar.

“During attempts to use the card, ATMs of credit organizations in the Emirates display a notification about a technical error. Users are informed that the card is inactive or blocked and are advised to contact their bank's support department,” TASS reports.

The service refusal affects both corporate and personal cards. Both state and private Turkish banks, as well as financial organizations with foreign participation, are declining to service the cards.

It is noteworthy that on November 21, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a new package of anti-Russian sanctions. This time, Gazprombank was also included in the sanctions. This has caused problems for several EU countries that had been using this method to pay for Russian gas supplies.