Crafts-focused marketplace Etsy on Monday (Feb. 28) canceled all balances owed by sellers in Ukraine on its platform, totaling almost $4 million in listing fees, transaction fees and more, as the country is in under attack by Russia.
It’s the latest step by big business to respond to Russia’s attacks on the Ukraine, which has also included Airbnb offering free short-term housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine.
“The events unfolding in Ukraine weigh heavily on us all,” wrote Etsy CEO Josh Silverman in a blog post explaining the company’s decision. “Being part of a community means that when one part is suffering, the rest of us must step up and offer our support.
“We’ve long been committed to creating economic opportunities as well as offering assistance in times of distress or injustice. Our efforts to support Etsy sellers in Ukraine are a reflection of that commitment,” he wrote.
Related: Etsy Active Sellers Reach 7.5M, Active Buyers Hit 96.3M
Etsy’s sales jumped 16.5% year-over-year to $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, while active sellers were up 72% to 7.5 million and active buyers spiked 17.6% to 96.3 million, the company announced Thursday (Feb. 24).
The company’s 5 million sellers delivered about 90% of their hand-crafted gifts on time during the quarter, and Silverman said last week he’s optimistic Etsy can continue its upward trajectory into 2022 and beyond.
Etsy sees its total addressable market at about $2 trillion, almost eight times Amazon’s expected revenue for 2022.
Also read: Global Banks Rush to Comply With Russian Sanctions
Meanwhile, banking officials are making sure they understand the sanctions imposed on Russia after it launched an attack on Ukraine starting last week, including which lenders are booted from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) international payments system.
The SWIFT Belgian messaging service connects more than 11,000 financial institutions worldwide.
Banks in Iran and North Korea have been kicked off SWIFT in the past, but their banks were not significant global trade participants.
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