Payments firm PayPal Holdings Inc shut down its services in Russia earlier Saturday, citing current circumstances, joining many financial and technology firms in suspending operations in Russia following Ukraine’s incursion.
Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal’s service in Russia, President and CEO Dan Schulman said in a statement, adding that the company is in partnership with the International Community Station. Together, we condemn Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine.
Previously, PayPal, which originally allowed users in Russia to conduct cross-border transactions, stopped accepting new users in the country on Wednesday. A company spokesperson said that while payments operations were halted, PayPal would continue to support withdrawals.
But “for a period of time, it will be necessary to ensure that account balances are spent in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.”
Ukrainian government officials have been calling for PayPal to pull out of Russia and use its extensive international payment channels to help them with fundraising.
“Since the intrusion began, PayPal has helped raise more than $150 million for charities supporting Ukraine’s response, one of the largest efforts we’ve seen in such a short period of time,” PayPal said on Friday.
PayPal’s suspension in Russia also applies to its money transfer service Xoom, where rivals Wise and Remitly also suspended some services in Russia earlier.