Visa bars payments in EU with cards of three Belarusian banks
MINSK. March 23 (Interfax) - Visa has prohibited transactions in the European Economic Area with cards of the international payment system that have been issued by three Belarusian banks, namely Belagroprombank, Belgazprombank and Alfa Bank (Belarus).
"In accordance with the notification of international payment system Visa, transactions using the Visa payment system will not be accessible in the European Economic Area for Belagroprombank clients as of March 18, 2026. The restrictions will apply to payments on bank cards, online payments and international transfers," the bank, Belarus's second largest by assets, said in a statement on its website.
The restrictions apply to all European Union countries, members of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), as well as the United Kingdom.
Belgazprombank and Alfa Bank (Belarus) issued similar warnings for their customers. In their official statements, the banks said the restrictions are due to a decision made by Visa in connection with sanctions.
Alfa Bank said that, because of the restrictions, Visa card holders will not be able to withdraw cash, pay for purchases in stores, pay for goods and services online, or transfer money in any card-to-card transfer service. The problem could also affect transactions initiated in other countries if the processing service, such as for an international taxi or food delivery service, goes through the UK or EU countries, the bank said.
As an alternative, the banks proposed customers use the cards of the Mastercard system, which has not imposed restrictions.
They also said that their Visa cards continue to work in Belarus and outside the EU and EFTA.
The EU imposed sanctions against the subsidiaries of Russian lenders Alfa Bank, VTB and Sberbank in Belarus and other countries in October 2025.
Visa and Mastercard imposed restrictions on transactions with cards issued by the Belarusian subsidiaries of Sberbank and VTB, BelVEB, Dabrabyt Bank and state-owned Belinvestbank in March 2022, when the payment systems also suspended their operations in Russia.
Three Belarussian banks - Belagroprombank, Dabrabyt and the Development Bank of Belarus - have been shut out of the SWIFT system.
