On April 28, 2020, new requirements for payments in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention and Counteraction to the Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds of Crime, Financing Terrorism and Financing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction” are coming into force.
At the same time, this will in no way affect most ordinary money transfer transactions. There should be no problems with remote payment of utilities, payment of taxes, goods and services or other ordinary transfers of citizens, including from card to card.
In order to further clarify the rules of the law, the National Bank has prepared answers to the most current questions in this regard.
If a citizen has 10 thousand hryvnias who wants to tell a relative or acquaintance, how should he / she do it and identify himself / herself? Do I have to go exclusively to the bank branch and with what documents?
If the citizen has these funds in his account, it is better to make a non-cash payment to the account of a friend or relative. Such payments shall continue to be made without restriction on the amount. After all, the bank account holders have already been identified and verified by the banks that have opened such accounts for them. Such payment can be easily and conveniently made remotely using the bank’s remote services.
If the citizen has only cash, then this payment can be made:
– at the bank’s office, with a passport;
– through devices with the function of cash reception – self-service terminals, ATMs (hereinafter referred to as PTCS), which technologically will be able to ensure the verification of the payer. If this is, for example, a PTC of a bank where the payer has a card, then the bank will be able to verify it with the card.
In any case, the financial companies have enough time to equip PTCS with different technical capabilities. After all, the National Bank has established a long transition period – until the end of 2020.
If you transfer funds to a relative, do you need to transfer less than UAH 5,000? How often can you transfer UAH 5,000?
Cash payments from card to card or from account to account can still be made without any restriction, and you do not need to split payments in installments. Holders of bank accounts to which payment cards are linked are already sufficiently identified.
Banks have information about each account holder and cardholder. They know the usual transactions in the history of his payments, they have information that he himself provided to the bank when opening an account.
In addition, ordinary small-scale transactions are not subject to financial monitoring. Because these are low-risk transactions, the bank will not scrutinize them. Instead, the new law shifts the focus to analysis of risk and large-scale operations worth over UAH 400,000.
Moreover, the National Bank has never required bank customers to provide information on the origins of small business cash flow transactions.
Will a payment card be blocked if a client receives UAH 5,000 twice a day from a relative or acquaintance?
No. Credit card transactions – that is, ordinary transactions of Ukrainians – are not subject to financial monitoring checks. Such low-risk transactions will not interest banks. The purpose of the law is quite different. Banks, in accordance with the requirements of the new law, should focus on the highest risk areas – risky and large-scale operations of more than UAH 400,000.
However, financial institutions must comply with some of the technical requirements of the law, such as assigning a unique number to each transaction. They will have enough time to do this, as a long transition period will be set – until the end of 2020. During this time, they will be able to fulfill all the technical points.
If a citizen wants to transfer more than UAH 5,000 in cash with a passport, does he / she have to confirm their origin? For example, transferring funds for services, helping relatives, etc.
No, it shouldn’t.
The National Bank has never required bank customers to provide information on the origins of small business cash flow transactions.
Citizens do not need to have a certificate of income or other documents for every small payment.
This applies not only to the transfer of funds to other citizens and the payment of goods and services, but also to the transfer of funds to one’s own account.
It is necessary to confirm the origin of funds only during large – over 400 thousand UAH – operations.
Is it necessary to identify myself when transferring through self-service terminals to a card, for example UAH 10,000?
Such payment can be made at the bank branch with a passport, or through PTCS, which technologically can provide verification of the payer (read data from his card).
If the PTCS has such technological functions, then you can safely perform the operation for the amount that the client needs.
If not, then a limit will be set at PTCS and the client simply will not be able to perform the transaction for more than UAH 5,000.
