Does Barclays/easy Bank Credit card work in belarus? Any experience ?

[u/Studyresearch0909]

I know not all belarusian banks are sanctioned like russian banks.

Anyone use barclays or easy Bank Credit cards in belarus? Does it work?

[u/nhSnork]

Never used these, but I'm not sure what to make of our banks and international systems right now in general. Belarusbank cards used to work in US eShop for years before getting stubbornly rebuffed since November and/or April, and tech support on both ends is clueless (I tried a transaction on the line with a bank representative once, and it didn't even make a blip on their radar) whereas Steam investments routinely yield a "card declined" kind of error as well but immediately comply on the second attempt. And AFAIK Belarusbank has never been under the sanctions.🤔

[u/Studyresearch0909 → u/nhSnork]

I think some banks just generally refuse business with na Belarusian bank out of fear....but I heard some work apparently

[u/nhSnork → u/Studyresearch0909]

Even 10-15 years ago, that was also the case with western marketplaces/auctions. Getting a book from eBay for my master thesis (after a futile search of an electronic copy) involved its share of hoops to jump through. Some blamed the hijinks of Belarusian customs and their reported reputation of randomly arresting and looting shipped goods; considering the kind of stuff that confiscated goods stores like "Your Choice" in Minsk had on display, that certainly didn't sound implausible.

As for the banks, I recently took a shot at eShop with an Alfabank card, no luck either (although that was the same day as another Belarusbank failure, so perhaps the system was still high on antifraud). Not many alternative options among my friends and family to try, and I'm reluctant to make more bank accounts just for more blind shots like these. Then again, I do have a leftover Dabrabyt acc from a past loan...

[u/pafagaukurinn]

Your two phrases are logically unrelated.

a) Sanctioned Belarusian banks. Indeed, not all of them are sanctioned. However, this information is almost useless to you as a plain John Q. Citizen, because in most cases you have no idea which bank processes payments for the merchant you have business with. In some cases you may see a notice (helpfully made in Russian) to the effect that cards issued by foreign banks do not work - which means the bank they use is sanctioned, so you will have to use cash.

b) Banks whose cards work in Belarus. Now, this is really useful, but your best bey would be to contact your bank and ask them directly, rather than rely on experiences of strangers, which may be obsolete anyway.

If memory serves, either HSBC or Barclays did announce that they were going to cease processing payments to Belarusian banks, but I don't remember details. Besides, some banks may just do it quietly without making a fuss.

Just contact your bank, buddy. If they say they didn't introduce any restrictions, you'll likely be okay.

[u/BackgroundIron]

If you are not sure, bring enough cash with you. My bank cards are working but i carry always backup money.

[u/Ok_Plankton9243]

It’s a crap shoot. BSB and Prior bank work with my Visa card from Denmark. Bring cash my guy.