Australia’s most successful private technology company, graphic design software firm Canva, is withdrawing from Russia following pressure from the Australian-Ukrainian technology community and discussions with the Ukrainian embassy.
It had cut off payments from Russia on March 1, but had kept its free service available. But it has reconsidered, with co-founder Cliff Obrecht declaring on Wednesday the company is blocking access to Russia indefinitely.
Refunds will not be issued for Canva customers in Russia who have pre-paid, though that will be only a small number of accounts because of the payment ban it imposed in line with Western sanctions. In all, Canva’s 1.4 million users in Russia accounts for less than 2% of its total customer base.
