Since October, the NBU has limited card transfers to 150,000 hryvnias per month: the validity period of the innovation

As of October 1, the National Bank of Ukraine is introducing a temporary limit on card transfers between individuals, which will be in effect for six months. This limit will be 150,000 hryvnias per month and will apply to card-to-card transfers (P2P, C2C). Appropriate decision approved by Resolution No. 102 of August 27, which comes into force on August 28.
The limit will apply only to transfers made to the accounts of other individuals, regardless of the number of client accounts in one bank. However, this limit will not apply to volunteer accounts that meet the specified criteria, as well as individuals whose verified monthly income exceeds the established limit.
In order for a volunteer to be identified as such, he or she must meet at least two of the five defined criteria. The limit will also not apply to transfers between the client’s own accounts in the same bank and legal entities. Operations using IBAN details remain unrestricted.
According to the NBU, about 98% of bank clients make transfers that do not exceed this limit, so for most users the restrictions will not have a significant impact on their financial transactions.
The reason for introducing the limit was the desire of the National Bank to fight against so-called “drops” – people who, for payment, transfer their card accounts to third parties for use in illegal financial transactions. Such accounts are used for transit operations and money laundering. According to the banks, cooperation with more than 80,000 clients who participated in such schemes was terminated in 2024 alone. The NBU estimates that about 200 billion hryvnias can pass through the card accounts of “drops” annually.
The National Bank considers the introduction of the limit as a temporary measure to curb shadow financial transactions, noting that this problem requires a comprehensive solution, including changes in legislation and cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
During this period of restrictions, the NBU plans to develop joint solutions with participants of the payment market, which will allow to abandon the introduced limits in the future, provided that the set goals are achieved.
Among other measures planned by the NBU is the adoption of draft law No. 11043, which provides for an increase in fines for violations of payment legislation and the creation of legal grounds for the responsibility of organizers of illegal schemes. It is also planned to create a register of customers whose card accounts were used in illegal schemes, which will allow banks to have access to the necessary information when establishing business relations.