Comment by embedding-shape

This isn't just about being a customer to a multinational bank: this also includes European banks who do business with American banks. For instance, most credit/debit cards in Europe are based on either Mastercard or Visa. All banks I know of will allow you to pay in dollars through online banking.

I don't think there are any European banks that don't communicate with American payment providers in some way by default. It's possible that there are some that trust their feature gates enough to take on these sanctioned people (like government-run banks for those who can't get a normal bank account, i.e. because of a history of fraud and crime), but I don't think these banks will advertise that ability.

Perhaps if she'd take an Iranian, North Korean, or Russian bank account, she might be able to do America-free banking, but that's not very practical outside of Iran, North Korea, or Russia at the moment.

I'm an EU citizen and UK resident. If I were to become one of those officials, my banking situation would become much more complex. One of the defining characteristics of the EU (not that the UK ever cared, even before leaving) is Freedom of Movement, and this is a credible threat to that freedom.

Visa and MasterCard, for a start: if a bank issues any kind of commonly accepted debit card to someone who is sanctioned then what is at stake is that bank's ability to continue issuing those cards. Realistically, the bank would be destroyed by being excluded from payment networks and card issuance. So only very little banks that don't interact with anything American (you might manage this with a credit union in the UK, potentially) would be your best bet.

You can't have a credit card which makes your life miserable in the modern world even if you can find a bank : Visa, Master Card, Amex are all American.

> There were some other sanctions involving visas, but as far as I understand

Yes, I read the article. You misread my comment.

The reason banks do this is that if they don't comply with US tax laws they'll be cut off from all US-based banking systems including international payments (universally conducted in USD), cut off from issuing any credit or debit cards (they are all US-based networks) and the CEO will be arrested if he ever steps foot on American soil. So basically, the US is forcing them to do this and they don't have a choice unless they want to stop being a bank. It's the same situation as dealing with US-sanctioned individuals. HTH.

No. It's a MasterCard/Visa only (and Amercian Express I guess, maybe JCB too).

So technically, she can pay by card in France, Belgium, India and others countries that don't rely exclusively on Visa/MasterCard.

With local cards.

I think the meaning was "people are now targeted even in the EU".

The world as defined by the US yeah.

EU paid Russia since the full scale Russian aggression more money for gas, oil, coal etc. than to support Ukraine. By that logic almost all EU citizens has ties to Russia as they use electricity/gas partially supplied by Russia.

> have ties

This is doing a lot of work. at what point person starts or stops having ties with russia?

if you have any siblings or parents or grandparents or cousins or classmates or ex girlfriends who are living in Russia?

I know a bunch of foreigners with stronger ties to Russia than some of my Russian friends by this logic my friend;) especially Ukrainians and Israelis but really anywhere in the world. debank them all you say?

What it sounds like is the old USSR way "make sure most people are guilty of something so that if you want to press them you always have some excuse"