30 June 2021, Wednesday, 14:01 172

NBU Allows Banks To Sell Cash Foreign Currency To Individuals For Non-Cash Hryvnia

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) allowed Ukrainian banks to sell cash foreign currency to individuals for non-cash hryvnia.

The NBU has said this in a statement, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"Authorized institutions will be able to sell cash foreign currency to individuals for non-cash funds in hryvnia through payment devices using the electronic means of payment of an individual performing such an operation," the statement reads.

Banks will be able to carry out operations for the purchase and sale of bank metals with physical delivery for non-cash funds in hryvnia to individuals, as well as operations for the sale of bank metals in the form of coins to legal entities.

The NBU has also expanded the opportunities for citizens to invest abroad - a resident individual will be able to conduct relevant transactions with the participation of a resident securities trader.

The amendments stipulate that in order to invest in foreign financial instruments, the trader will act as a broker (at the expense of such an individual).

So, funds in foreign currency are transferred from a citizen's current account in a bank to a merchant's current account opened in the same bank, with their subsequent transfer abroad or to non-resident current accounts opened in Ukraine.

"Appropriate steps will improve certain provisions of the National Bank's regulatory legal acts in the currency sphere and will contribute to the further development of new services provided by authorized institutions in the field of currency trading, as well as strengthening the protection of citizens when investing abroad," the regulator emphasized.

These amendments were approved by the resolution of the NBU Board of June 29, 2021 No. 62 "On Amendments to Certain Regulatory Legal Acts of the National Bank of Ukraine" and come into force on June 30, 2021.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in 2020, the National Bank bought USD 4,929 million on the interbank foreign exchange market and sold USD 3,891 million.