Apple has suspended money transfers to those Russian companies whose payment details indicate Sberbank.
The reason for this decision is sanctions from the United States and the European Union. Because of them, Apple can no longer make money transfers to Russian partners in some regions of Russia and in the Crimea.
This was reported by Vedomosti with reference to an Apple message sent out today, August 29, to domestic teams. However, what was meant by “some regions” is not specified.
Such measures have affected both those companies that develop mobile applications for iOS, and those who release programs for Mac OS. Now neither of them can receive the funds earned in the App Store and Mac App Store, respectively.
“The bank you specified in iTunes Connect has come under direct restrictions. As a result, we are forced to suspend any payments until you specify a bank account that is not subject to restrictions. To update your payment information, go to the Agreement, Tax, and Banking section on the iTunes Connect website,” according to the letter sent by Apple.
According to Vedomosti, some teams have already noticed the lack of funds.
From the editorial office:It is not reported whether Russian users whose Sberbank credit cards are linked to iTunes accounts will be able to pay for content.
But since Apple has suspended support for operations with the bank, then, most likely, it is worth waiting for the introduction of such a practice in the near future.
Considering that Sberbank is the largest Russian commercial bank with the largest number of active credit cards issued (100 million were issued as of December 2014), due to the sanctions against the bank, the domestic mobile application market should presumably expect a significant decrease in the number of money transfers.
Source: Vedomosti