Ukraine Awards Peace Prize to Incoming Visa CEO

Ukraine has awarded its Peace Prize to Visa president and future CEO Ryan McInerney.

“Visa is one of the first companies [that] suspended operations in Russia back in March,” Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Twitter Tuesday (Nov. 29). “And our reliable partner showing consistent support of Diia ecosystem projects.”

Diia is Ukraine’s e-government platform, created with the goal of making all of the country’s public services available online, according to the official Ukrainian website. The service’s mobile app lets Ukrainians access digital documents like ID cards, passports and birth certificates.

It’s an honor for me to pass a Peace Prize by @ZelenskyyUa to Ryan McInerney. @Visa is one of the first companies suspended operations in Russia back in March. And our reliable partner showing consistent support of Diia ecosystem projects. Big company with strategic vision on . pic.twitter.com/73AzvMc4PR

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) November 29, 2022

According to a Visa spokesperson, Fedorv used the meeting to preview his goal of expanding the platform to include a digital bank, which would issue virtual credentials to Ukrainians and “support a host of innovative use cases.”

The spokesperson said Fedorov also asked for Visa’s partnership to help his country establish “Diia University” and a new “European Institute for Digital Transformation” to help other democratic governments replicate Ukraine’s success in “rapidly scaling digital government solutions in partnership with private sector companies.”

There’s a precedent for that sort of partnership, as PYMNTS has reported. This year saw Meta’s WhatsApp platform team with the government of India to let citizens access various government documents through the messaging app.

The collaboration also involves an integration of India DigiLocker digital documentation initiative into WhatsApp, which has 487 million users in the country.

Visa and rival Mastercard both suspended operations in Russia on March 5 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

CEO Al Kelly said at the time that while the company regrets the effect that its decision will have on employees, merchants and cardholders in Russia, there was no other option.

“This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values,” he said in a statement to the press.

Visa announced earlier this month that McInerney will become chief executive in February of next year, replacing Kelly, who will move into the role of executive chairman.