The NBU requires banks to more actively check card transfers of Ukrainians and block accounts.
The National Bank requires financial institutions to more closely and thoroughly check small transfers between individual accounts - P2P transfers, especially in the part of crediting small amounts to cards. The requirement is contained in the NBU letter No. 25-0005/42076.
The regulator expresses its dissatisfaction with the fact that most banks emphasize the analysis of the total volume of P2P transfers, and delve less into small transactions, in which the NBU also sees problems, especially when it comes to the receipt of a large number of small transfers from different people to the card.
The National Bank considers this approach a formal fulfillment of financial monitoring requirements, and bankers will be fined if they do not change it.
The National Bank of Ukraine wants banks to analyze numerous small debits to cards, and then demand an explanation from people about them. It can be a transfer of even 100-200 UAH, but 10-20 or more times a day.
"The regulator suspects that numerous transfers to the card may indicate participation in a scheme with an illegal gambling business. And also about receiving unofficial income or about hidden business activities. For example, in food and other markets in Kyiv, it has already become a common practice to transfer card numbers to buyers - when a person lacks cash, he can quickly throw money on the seller's card and thus pay for the goods. What is not liked by the authorities, which are interested in small businesses opening sole proprietorships (individual entrepreneurs) and paying the appropriate taxes," explained the deputy chairman of the board of one of the banks.
At the same time, the National Bank does not want to hear denials about the fact that the bank could not contact the client and ask him a question, because there is no contact with the person, due to the fact that he is, for example, abroad. Officials believe financiers can find people in a remote format through their mobile apps.
The NBU demanded from banks to more strictly check customer card transactions, to ask for explanations and supporting documents more often. If the Ukrainians do not provide them, then they will block people's accounts and break relations - that is, they will forcibly close the account unilaterally.
At the same time, the regulator required banks to draw up a risk profile of each client, which includes a double check of the person and his operations. Not once every 6 months, as most banks do now. And every quarter - once every 3 months. This means that bankers will be contacting people more often, asking for information about the origin of their money and possibly closing accounts (if they don't get all the information they need).
In letter No. 25-0005/42076, the National Bank gave several new instructions regarding financial monitoring:
1. Detect atypical activity on the account, including P2P transfers - an atypical increase in the number and volume of financial transactions.
2. To study web-resources through which people receive goods and services, money. By finding out the domain registration zones of the sites and comparing them with the lists of illegal participants of the gambling market.
3. Analyze the client's financial operations for compliance with his profile and field of activity, find out the sources of funds.
Additional requirements appeared, in particular, as part of what the National Bank calls the "fight against drops" - when Ukrainians open accounts in their own name, and then sell the right to use them to other people. The NBU and banks are trying to fight this phenomenon. In connection with this, bankers even think from time to time under the guise of buyers to selectively buy such cards on the black market. The goal is to identify the names of people who actively open accounts for resale, and to form blacklists of such persons. That in the meantime they close the cards and refuse to open accounts in other banks.
