Anna's Story, A Russian Citizen In Bali, Who Has Difficulty Withdrawing Money At An ATM Due To Sanctions For The Ukrainian Invasion

BADUNG - Russian citizens in Bali have difficulty withdrawing cash from their accounts due to economic sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

This condition is also experienced by Anna Pomarina. She couldn't withdraw cash because the payment network blocked her card transactions.

"I'm having a hard time now (withdrawing) money because all my clients are in Russia. They can't transfer money now here and anywhere. This is crazy", said Anna in Canggu, North Kuta, Badung, Bali, Thursday, March 17.

But Anna is still lucky because she works in a company in Jakarta. This income can finance her life in Bali.

“Russian friends here already took all cash at ATMs before March 10. Because they know after March 10 their accounts will be closed", she added.

Anna has been in Jakarta for 5 years and has moved to Bali since the COVID-19 pandemic. For Anna, Indonesia is very pleasant, mainly because the people are friendly.

"I find fun, family, friendliness, smiles and tolerance here", she said.

Meanwhile, communication with her family is done via WhatsApp and Telegram. Meanwhile, Instagram, including Facebook, called Anna, has been blocked in Russia.

“They are there now (hoarding) food for fear that everything will be expensive later. Now going to Russia is very expensive. For Russians who want to come here it is also very expensive. In Bali now we also have to pay twice as much", she said.

The difficulty of withdrawing cash for Russian Caucasians in Bali was also confirmed by the Assistant Manager of Lusa By/Suka Restaurant, Rifki Seldianto.

This restaurant near Berawa Beach, Canggu has a lot of Russian Caucasian customers. Rifki said there were three foreign guests who could not use their cards to pay on March 7 last.

"On March 7 there were three people, they couldn't pay their cards, they couldn't be used for transactions. But the next day there were also those who paid with cash and some also paid for local cards (Indonesian ATM cards)", he said.

According to him, Russian Caucasians who cannot pay with their cards leave goods as collateral. The next day this Caucasian guest paid off the payment.

"We list the names of guests. We also can't force them to pay at the same time. Guests also say sorry if the card can't be used", said Rifki.