Apple Pay has stopped working on Russian territory. It was only a matter of time before Apple was added to the list of companies and governments applying sanctions against Russia after the country decided to invade Ukraine and was rejected by all. the Western powers.
Without peace, there are no digital payments
The service has been deactivated in all banks where it has been integrated as a means of payment: VTB Group, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank and Otkritie. Even physical debit and credit cards don’t work with the service. Payments with them are going back to what they were ten years ago, without Apple acting as a bridge for those payments.
At this time, Apple’s Russian website does not reflect this or any other change, but Business Insider was able to confirm the move at the same time it detected that Google Pay has also been disabled in the country. We’ll never know, but maybe the two companies locked down their platforms in a joint effort.
In the absence of an official statement, Tim Cook commented the following on Twitter:
I am deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine. We are doing everything we can for our teams there and will support local humanitarian efforts. I think of the people who are currently in danger and I join with all those who call for peace.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 25, 2022
“I am very concerned about the situation in Ukraine. We are doing everything we can for our teams there and we will support the humanitarian efforts. I take into account the people who are in danger at the moment and I join all those who call for peace.”
At the same time, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister asked Apple that the company go further and block all device sales and access to the App Store in Russia. This would involve the cessation of many services in the nation:
I have contacted @tim_cook, CEO of Apple, to block the Apple Store for citizens of the Russian Federation and support the US government’s sanctions package! If you agree to have the president-killer, then you will have to settle for the only available site Russia 24. pic.twitter.com/b5dm78g2vS
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 25, 2022
At the moment the invasion continues and the international sanctions accumulate. We’ll be watching for any official statements Apple may release, as well as any news that would allow the situation to take a better course.
