No more than UAH 100,000 and 30 transactions per month: NBU to limit outgoing transfers between individuals
Kyiv • UNN
The National Bank of Ukraine is preparing to restrict card transfers and introduce limits of UAH 100,000 and 30 transactions per month for outgoing P2P transfers from individuals' accounts in order to combat illegal activities such as tax evasion and money laundering.
The National Bank of Ukraine is preparing a draft decision to restrict card transfers and introduce limits on card-to-card money transfers between individuals (so-called P2P transactions). This was reported to media representatives by the NBU, UNN reports with reference to LIGA.net.
Details
It is planned that the limits for outgoing P2P transfers may amount to UAH 100,000 and 30 transactions per month for one account.
The restriction, which will be based on the April decision of the National Security and Defense Council on combating illegal gambling, is expected to be implemented within a month.
"We are considering introducing a framework for outgoing P2P transfers from individuals' accounts of UAH 100,000 per month and limiting the number of such transfers to 30 per month. We estimate that 95% of bank customers will not even notice these restrictions. Instead, it will become more difficult and expensive to make shadow payments to criminals who use individuals' cards for, for example, tax evasion and criminal activities," said Dmytro Oliynyk, Deputy Governor of the NBU, at a meeting with the media.
There are no plans to limit incoming transactions in order not to complicate the activities of, for example, volunteers. In addition, if there are grounds and confirmations, the limits may be increased as an exception.
According to the National Bank, the volume of such shadow transfers can amount to billions of hryvnias. At the same time, cards of individuals are used, who deliberately provide their personal data to criminals for this purpose. Then, using the cards of pensioners or students with a monthly income of several thousand hryvnias, uncharacteristic payment transactions worth millions of hryvnias per day can be made.
Since the fall of 2023, the NBU has recorded an abnormal increase in the volume of P2P transfers in the system, as well as an increase in the number of cards used to make such transfers and the average transfer amounts for individual issuing banks. In particular, one of the largest issuing banks reported to the NBU the information on identified drops (people who provide hackers/fraudsters with access to their bank details, including pin codes and access to online banking, for a fee) - more than 10,000 customers in October-December 2023 alone. Another bank identified more than 4,000 compromised cards in the same period.
Thus, according to CASE Ukraine analysts, the state loses at least UAH 100 billion a year due to VAT schemes, counterfeiting, the gray market for excisable goods, salaries in envelopes, etc.
"If these people deliberately pass on their personal card data for illegal activities, then tell me how they differ from, for example, drug couriers," said NBU Governor Andriy Pyshny.
In the future, after the legislation is amended, it is possible to create registers of cards used for such cards with similar transactions.
As part of its efforts to combat shadow payments, the regulator also plans to introduce requirements for financial companies to have authorized capital that will be tied to the percentage of transactions from the amount of payments.
