In Ukraine, the requirements for card bank payments are becoming stricter, particularly with the introduction of the concept of "instant transfers," which must be completed in no more than 10 seconds.
This was reported by the Ministry of Finance. These changes are part of Ukraine's commitments to the International Monetary Fund and aim to bring the country closer to integration into the European Union's payment market.
The regulations are being implemented by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) following the adoption of bill No. 11043, which amends the functioning of financial services markets, signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The primary developer of these changes is the NBU itself, but the official initiators are a group of people's deputies from "Servant of the People" and "Restoration of Ukraine," including Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk, Viktoriia Kinzburhskyi, Oleksandr Lukashov, and Oleksandr Sova.
Instant payments are defined as money transfers completed in no more than 10 seconds. The National Bank classifies such operations as "credit instant transfers" initiated by the sender. For example, payments for subscriptions to streaming services do not fall into this category.
According to the new legislation, a payment will be considered instant if the entire process (from verification to crediting funds to the recipient) occurs within 10 seconds, at any time of day and any day of the week. This includes:
- all verifications (including financial monitoring);
- the direct transfer of funds from the sender's account;
crediting to the recipient's account; - free notification of the recipient via SMS or push notification.
The term "instant payments" can only be used in advertising by companies that meet these requirements. If an operation takes longer than 10 seconds, such a advertising claim will be considered misinformation and may result in fines or even revocation of the license.
Currently, instant payments have not yet been implemented in Ukraine, but the NBU plans to complete their implementation by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Unofficially, Ukrainian banks have confirmed that the NBU is already testing such payments, but issues have arisen during the process. In particular, difficulties were noted during inspections at the end of September 2024.
The implementation of true "instant payments" is part of Ukraine's commitments on its path to joining the European Union, as instant credit transfers are a common trend across Europe.