Wise, Remitly Suspend Money Transfer Services to Russia

Both cross-border payments company Wise and remittance processor Remitly have suspended their money transfer services in Russia due to the sanctions there and the ongoing military action in Ukraine, Reuters reported Monday (Feb. 28).

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

Wise used to be known as TransferWise and it holds balances in countries on popular currency routes, intending to sidestep high fees that usually go along with international money transfers.

As of last week, Wise had limited daily transfers to Russia to £200, and a spokesperson said the intent was to make sure they could offer services to as many people as possible.

The U.S. on Saturday, alongside its allies, announced a plan to take action against Russia’s central bank and some of the country’s banks from the SWIFT system. This was seen as an escalation of the Western sanctions against Moscow.

After that, Wise suspended all money transfers to Russia.

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

In addition, Wise announced that it had waived fees on over £500,000 of personal transfers to Ukraine, intending to help customers with possible emergency needs. Remitly also confirmed it wasn’t supporting transfers to Russia anymore because of the sanctions.

In further Russia sanction-related news, Switzerland has broken with its usual neutrality and decided to freeze Russia’s assets in the country, in response to the military action from Russia.

See also: Switzerland Breaks Neutrality, Freezes Russia’s Assets

A delegation of four out of the seven members from the Federal Council of Switzerland, which is led by President Ignazio Cassis, has also moved to broaden the sanctions to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, effective immediately.

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