International payment systems will reduce commissions for transactions to Ukraine
Reduced tariffs for money transfers to Ukraine will be valid for nine months (Photo:Clay Banks \ Unsplash)
International payment systems have agreed to lower commissions for money transfers to Ukraine on the initiative of the European Commission, the National Bank of Ukraine stated on Sept. 28.
According to an agreement signed by leading money transfer firms, their payment systems will limit the commission for transferring money to Ukraine to 3% of the transfer amount.
The document was signed by the heads of Visa, Mastercard, Wise, Extrabanca, Ria Money Transfer, Small World, TransferGo, as well as representatives of the largest Ukrainian banks and payment systems.
These reduced tariffs will be valid for nine months from the date the agreement is signed. Tariffs will then be reviewed in accordance with the current situation.
The National Bank noted that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, most international money transfer systems have completely abolished fees for transfers to Ukraine.
According to preliminary estimates by the National Bank of Ukraine, in January-July 2022, $7.6 billion was transferred to Ukraine. This is only 5.7% less than in the same pre-war period.
The war has led to a decrease in transfers through official channels by about 12%. At the same time, the transfer of funds through informal channels increased slightly - by 3%.
Of all funds transferred to Ukraine from abroad in January-July 2022, 24% of funds were received through international transfer systems.
According to data for the first half of 2022, Ukrainian workers sent $6.46 billion back to Ukraine as remittances.
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