Фото: Reform.by
Belarusian Alfa-Bank has warned of possible issues with its cards following the introduction of European sanctions. The bank was included in the EU’s 19th sanctions package, which will take effect on December 2.
According to Alfa-Bank, the Visa and Mastercard payment systems continue to operate with the institution.
“Domestic card transactions and payments through local Belarusian services are functioning steadily.
In Europe and the United States, card payments may face difficulties, but this depends not on the sanctions themselves, but on the internal policies of individual companies.
Booking, PayPal, Aliexpress and other platforms restrict payments from Belarusian cards, but this situation existed even before the 19th sanctions package.
In Russia and Asian countries, the cards continue to work without changes,” the bank said in a statement.
Alfa-Bank noted that it cooperates with Apple’s headquarters in Ireland, meaning Apple Pay and payments via apple.com/bill could become unavailable. This would prevent cardholders from linking their cards to Apple Pay, using it for payments, or paying for Apple services.
“We are already working to ensure that clients accustomed to paying by phone do not lose this convenience. Alfa has about 300,000 such clients — and each of them matters. By the way, there will be no issues with Samsung Pay or Swoo Pay,” the bank said.
Alfa-Bank plans to offer payment stickers as an alternative.
“A sticker is a small adhesive device containing a contactless payment chip, just like a bank card. You can attach it to your iPhone and use it for payments as before.
Alfa is doing everything possible to launch this solution quickly. We will soon inform clients how and where they can obtain Alfa’s payment stickers.
In parallel, the bank is developing a project where any item — a keychain, ring, or bracelet — could serve as a payment tool. This is not only convenient but also reflects technological innovation and freedom of choice.
As for subscriptions — the services where we watch series, listen to music, read books, or study — they can still be paid for directly with Alfa cards via INSNC,” the statement said.
The bank added that it does not expect any problems updating its INSNC app through the App Store.