NBU has canceled the limit of UAH 150,000 per month for "card-to-card" transfers
Kyiv • UNN
The National Bank of Ukraine has decided not to extend regulatory restrictions on outgoing P2P transfers from individuals' accounts. The decision was made thanks to joint decisions to minimize illegal activities.
The National Bank of Ukraine has decided not to extend the regulatory restrictions of UAH 150,000 per month for outgoing transfers (also known as P2P, C2C) for all accounts of individual clients opened in one bank to the accounts of other individuals, UNN reports citing the NBU.
Details
According to the NBU, these restrictions stimulated the development of comprehensive joint solutions aimed at minimizing the use of payment infrastructure in illegal activities, both through legislative changes and through self-regulation of the market, by signing the relevant Memorandum.
During the period of regulatory restrictions:
- Law of Ukraine No. 3994-IX of 08.10.2024 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving the Functions of the National Bank of Ukraine on State Regulation of Financial Services Markets” based on draft law No. 11043 was adopted and entered into force, which provides for an increase in the amount of fines for violators of payment legislation;
- a Memorandum on ensuring the transparency of the payment services market was developed and signed with the coordination of banking associations, to which the absolute majority of banks serving retail customers and payment service providers licensed to maintain retail customer settlement accounts joined;
- banks and non-bank payment service providers continue to improve the operation of payment transaction monitoring systems in accordance with the requirements and recommendations of the NBU;
- law enforcement agencies are actively working to identify and stop criminal schemes. For example, the Bureau of Economic Security recently exposed a network of more than four thousand drop men;
- The National Bank has developed a concept for a register of persons requiring enhanced control of payment transactions. The proposal will be sent to the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for further consideration in April.
Last year, we recorded an abnormal surge in the volume of transfers between individuals' accounts, which has now decreased as a result of the introduction of regulatory restrictions, the NBU's communication that drew the market's attention to the problem of drop men, and the implementation of the Memorandum. The short-term trend towards a rapid increase in the number of open payment cards, which was recorded in September-October last year, has also stopped
The National Bank will continue to monitor the situation and work on other initiatives that will enhance the effectiveness of the fight against criminal schemes involving drop men, and will also take additional measures as needed in accordance with its regulatory mandate.
Reference
In December 2024, Ukrainian banks, with the coordination of banking associations, signed a Memorandum on ensuring the transparency of the functioning of the payment services market.
The signatories of the Memorandum undertake to make transfers of clients taking into account the implemented risk-based approach. That is, limits are not set on transactions of clients with confirmed sources of income (in particular, salary clients and other clients with confirmed income), as well as volunteers identified by the payment service provider in accordance with the requirements of the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine dated 24.02.2022 No. 18 (as amended).
Payment service providers that have signed the Memorandum undertake to set limits (which also apply to transfers using IBAN details) on transactions of clients without documented income.
