WebMoney at the request of the Central Bank for six months suspended transfers to ruble wallets

The international money transfer system WebMoney, at the request of the Central Bank, suspended transfers on ruble wallets for six months. About it it says on the official website of the system.

“On December 6, JSC Bank KKB, the Guarantor and the settlement bank of the System for ruble wallets (WMP, WMR), received an order from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to suspend replenishment and transfer of electronic means of payment from December 7, 2021 for 6 months. This restriction makes it impossible for the System participants to replenish, exchange and transfer operations via P and R-purses, “the WebMoney website says.

WebMoney representative reported RBC that the Central Bank’s order was a “surprise” for them.

“Any violations related to the withdrawal of capital, payments on illegal sites and the lack of fight against unfair use [сервиса] we do not have and did not have. […] We cannot comment on the position of the regulator, but, as far as we know, formal remarks are indicated as the basis for the restrictions, ”he explained.

Only payment transactions in trade and service enterprises, payment of fines and taxes, and withdrawal of rubles to users’ bank accounts will remain available to owners of ruble wallets.

“We apologize to the System participants, owners of P and R-wallets, for possible inconveniences. The guarantor of WebMoney in Russia works in strict accordance with the current legislation and the requirements of the regulator, ”the system’s website explained.

In early December, the central bank drew up a plan for amendments to Federal Law 61-FZ “On the National Payment System”, which, it is said, should protect victims from fraudsters. So, the Central Bank plans to determine a specific amount of compensation in case of theft of money and to simplify the procedure for its receipt, and also wants to give banks the right to write off money for those transactions that seem fraudulent, only after one or two days, even if the client’s consent is obtained. In addition, the possibility of obliging banks on both sides (sender and recipient) to check transactions for signs of fraud is being discussed.

Experts warn that these measures can negatively affect the quality of financial services, and bona fide customers can be hurt if their transactions are mistakenly considered fraudulent.

At the end of 2020, the Central Bank banned the QIWI payment service from making transfers to foreign online stores for six months. At the beginning of 2021, the same ban affected the Umoney money transfer system.

The WebMoney electronic payment system has been operating in Russia for over 20 years. This year, 39.9% of Russians have used WebMoney wallets. But the service is no longer included in the top three, behind Sberbank.Online (83.2%), Yandex.Money (52.8%) and PayPal (46.1%), informs Tadviser.