Tinkoff Bank to stop issuing Union Pay cards as they stop working abroad as of July 21

MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax) - Cards for Chinese payment system Union Pay issued by Tinkoff Bank , which was hit by U.S. sanctions on Thursday, will stop working abroad as of July 21, the Russian bank said.

"We recommend withdrawing cash soon," the bank said on its Telegram channel. The cards will continue to work as usual within Russia.

However, Tinkoff Bank will soon stop issuing Union Pay cards.

Another Russian bank that actively issued Union Pay cards and was also hit by U.S. sanctions on Thursday, Solidarnost Bank, also recommended customers withdraw their cash and warned of possible restrictions on transactions abroad.

"Unfortunately, due to concerns about secondary sanctions some counterparty banks might restrict the ability to accept money transfers from the bank abroad. If you are now in another country, we recommend withdrawing cash today," Solidarnost said on its Telegram channel. Transactions in Russia are being carried out as usual, the bank said.

The United States and Canada imposed blocking sanctions against Tinkoff Bank and Solidarnost Bank, as well as LockoBank and Petersburg Social Commercial Bank on Thursday. Tinkoff Bank was included in the sanctions lists of the European Union and United Kingdom in February and May, respectively.