Comment by eesmith
3 days ago
It means no use of Visa or American Express bank cards, which are US companies.
I think SWIFT transactions are under US control.
No use of Apple, Google, Amazon, AirBnB, Uber, or other US-based services.
Eg, "Canadian judge Kimberly Prost is unable to use credit cards or access everyday services in what she calls an attack on the independence of the judiciary " - https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2025/12/12/its-surreal-u...
Every day it seems a little weirder how many of these other countries are apparently passively tolerating the US/Google/Apple/etc-centric nature of parts of their internal economy.
The US had THAT much trust, not necessarily influence, which just went down the drain.
In Europe, "US had trust" only in the "free" european media, and among politicians..
People knew and know quite well what US was and is, besides the leading academia (many, if not most, lured there by money from other countries) and the holywood circus.
And no, it is not "because of Trump".
And, of note, online payments across EU countries is most often done with American payment methods. Most Chinese companies only take US-based payment methods.
Such a sanction really narrows down where they can buy online — it's not just the US that becomes off-limits.