PayPal freezes all services in Russia following Ukraine invasion
PayPal is set to shutter all its services in Russia, according to its chief executive today, as the payments giant becomes the latest business to exit the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
“Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia,” chief executive Dan Schulman said on Saturday.
“PayPal supports the Ukrainian people and stands with the international community in condemning Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine.”
The fintech heavyweight had already stopped accepting new customers in Russia, but has added that it will begin stopping cross-border payment services as well as its Xoom international remittance service.
It is not yet clear when PayPal will wind down the services, but it said it would process withdrawals for a “period of time”.
Following suit
Samsung Electronics has also halted all shipments to Russia.
“Due to current geopolitical developments, shipments to Russia have been suspended,” the company, the world’s largest producer of semiconductor chips, said in a statement on Saturday. “We continue to actively monitor this complex situation to determine our next steps.”
Beyond tech, the world’s most popular luxury fashion brands have also bailed out of Russia.
Birkin bag maker Hermes and Cartier owner Richemont, followed by LVMH, Kering and Chanel announced on Friday that they would temporarily close stores and pause operations in Russia.
Chanel said in a LinkedIn post: “Given our increasing concerns about the current situation, the growing uncertainty and the complexity to operate, Chanel decided to temporarily pause its business in Russia.”