The State Duma adopted in the second reading a bill that proposes to limit money transfers from Russia to foreign countries via foreign payment systems. The amendments concern transfers to Ukraine. 

This is the long-promised «mirror response» to the ban on the operation of Russian payment systems in Ukraine, introduced in October 2016, reports the Rossiyskaya Gazeta. It concerned the «Golden Crown», «Unistream», etc. Also in Ukraine are banned popular Russian electronic payment systems, such as the Yandex.Money. 

‘The establishment of this ban has led to a restriction of competition in the Russian market of payment services carried out in the form of cross-border transfers of funds without opening an account, in favor of foreign payment systems,’ says the explanatory note to the document.

The amendments state that if a foreign state introduces a ban on the operation of Russian payment systems, in return, similar transfers to citizens from Russia's territory to the territory of that state via foreign payment systems are prohibited automatically. This applies specifically to transfers to Ukraine. 

According to the document, a cross-border transfer from Russia to the territory of such a state can be carried out only via an operator controlled by the Russian legal entities. These rules will apply to transfers without opening a bank account. Thus, transfers are prohibited by means of international systems WesternUnion and MoneyGramm.

To transfer money to Ukraine, there remains the option of transferring from a card to a card or from an account to an account, which does not come under new restrictions. However, it requires that both the sender and the recipient have an account with the bank. Small amounts can be «sent» to the mobile phone number of the recipient. 

If the bill is adopted in the third reading, the document may enter into force 30 days after the day of its official publication. At the same time, the norms of the law will apply to the bans already imposed by foreign countries in respect of payment systems registered in the Russian Federation.

According to: Информационное агенство Антифашист