Could Visa and Mastercard return to Russia? The central bank answers

Could Visa and Mastercard ever come back to Russia? The Bank of Russia has just weighed in, and the short answer is: not any time soon, and not on the old terms.

What did the central bank say?

Alla Bakina, head of the central bank's national payment system department, said that if the two companies want to return, the regulator will set the conditions for their work. Right now, she added, there is no dialogue with them on the subject.

Bakina stressed that Visa and Mastercard have fully stopped operating in Russia. They are not in the regulator's register and hold no licence to provide financial services in the country.

Why would they have to start over?

Because legally, they are outsiders now. Should they want to come back, the companies would have to go through the whole legal route again, including getting permits. The specific terms under which they could be admitted would be analysed separately by the central bank.

Bakina also said that, even though the two players have lost a big share of the market, Russia's financial infrastructure shows a sufficient level of self-reliance under current conditions.

What happened before?

Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia on 5 March 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine. Cards issued by Russian banks stopped working abroad.

In September 2026, the central bank said the total number of Visa and Mastercard cards in Russia had fallen by a quarter in the second quarter.

What's next?

For now, nothing: no talks, no applications, no conditions on the table. If that changes, the companies would be starting from zero.