Wise, Remitly Suspend Russian Transfer Services

Cross-border payments company Wise and remittance processor Remitly have suspended money transfer services in Russia due to sanctions and ongoing military action in Ukraine, Reuters reported on Monday (February 28th).

A spokesperson for Wise said the London-based company planned to “keep these measures under constant review”.

Wise was formerly known as TransferWise and it holds balances in countries on popular currency routes, intending to avoid the high fees that usually come with international money transfers.

Since last week, Wise had limited daily transfers to Russia to £200, and a spokesperson said the intention was to ensure they could offer services to as many people as possible.

The United States announced on Saturday, alongside its allies, an action plan against Russia’s central bank and some of the country’s banks in the SWIFT system. This was seen as an escalation of Western sanctions against Moscow.

After that, Wise suspended all money transfers to Russia.

The Reuters report notes that Wise also capped transfers to Ukraine due to what he said were more difficulties operating the service there. This cap, the company said, will be removed as soon as possible.

Additionally, Wise announced he had waived fees on more than £500,000 of personal transfers to Ukraine, with the intention of helping customers with possible emergency needs. Remitly also confirmed that it no longer supports transfers to Russia due to the sanctions.

In other news related to Russian sanctions, Switzerland broke with its usual neutrality and decided to freeze Russian assets in the country, in response to Russian military action.

See also: Switzerland breaks neutrality and freezes Russian assets

A delegation of four of Switzerland’s seven Federal Council members, led by President Ignazio Cassis, also decided to expand sanctions to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. , with immediate effect. .

In a statement, the Federal Council said the intention was to reaffirm solidarity with Ukraine. The Federal Council also announced a relief delivery plan for people who fled to Poland.

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