Visa, Mastercard Resume Services for Customers of Russian SMP Bank

International payment systems Visa and Mastercard have unblocked cards of Russian bank "Northern Sea Route" (SMP), according to a Sunday media statement of the bank.

According to the press release, as cited by ITAR-TASS, MasterCard Inc approved a decision to resume services for clients of SMP Bank overnight and Visa Inc followed suit on Sunday morning.

" The validity of cards Mastercard is fully restored, transactions with Visa cards will begin within a few hours as long as communications channels are adjusted and equipment settings are updated," SMP Bank said.

On Friday, Visa and MasterCard, both US-based companies, blocked services to customers of four Russian banks, including Rossiya, Sobinbank, InvestKapitalBank and SMP Bank, due to the sanctions imposed by the US.