The Wise international system introduced a ban on Ukrainian hryvnia transfers

The international money transfer system Wise (formerly TransferWise) has suspended transfers from hryvnia accounts for all its clients. This was reported by the spokesperson of the press service of this company at the request of the Ministry of Finance. He also reminded that earlier a ban on the issuance of new Wise cards was introduced for our citizens.

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“Clients with a registered address in Ukraine cannot open new digital cards in Wise from August 12, 2022. Clients whose digital cards were opened before this date can continue to use them until the card expires,” explained speaker Wise.

The company clarified that Wise is not tied to the nationality of users, but to their actual registration in the country (residency), in this case, in Ukraine.

“People can send hryvnias to Ukraine, as well as dollars, pounds sterling and euros through SWIFT payments,” Wise clarified.

The company did not name specific reasons for which restrictions on hryvnia transfers were introduced. Only general formulations were used.

“Currently, it is impossible to send money abroad from Ukraine, and new clients with an address in Ukraine cannot use some features of the Wise account to create a balance in different currencies or receive a Wise digital card.

These changes are effective from 2022 and we have informed clients about these changes so they can find alternative ways to manage their money. We strive to make our services available again in the future, but, unfortunately, we cannot give a specific time frame for this,” – admitted Speaker Wise.

From October 5, 2022, the National Bank of Ukraine introduced a ban on P2P transfers (for the public) from hryvnia accounts to accounts in foreign banks. Prior to that, such transfers were subject to a limit of 30,000. UAH and in 100 thousand UAH The introduction of the ban was explained by the active withdrawal of funds through this channel with the conversion of the hryvnia into foreign currency, which the NBU called “card tourism.”

The regulator did not prohibit foreign card transfers from the currency accounts of our individuals: Ukrainians (individuals), as before, can transfer money from their currency cards to the cards of foreign banks within the limit of 100,000. UAH/month

It is possible that Wise’s restrictions on hryvnia transfers are connected with the taboo of our National Bank. At the same time, the company tries to comfort clients by simplifying procedures.

“To help Ukrainian refugees in neighboring countries, we have simplified the documentation requirements for creating a Wise account and accessing banking operations in local currency. We also simplified the registration of charitable organizations in Wise and removed the commission for some of them, so that as much money as possible came to Ukraine,” assured the Wise speaker.

The company has one of the lowest commissions for cross-border transfers in the world — 0.65% of the amount.

An online system of international money transfers with direct currency conversion at a fixed exchange rate called TransferWise was created in 2011 by Estonians Taavet Hinrikus, the first Skype employee, and former management consultant Christo Kjaermann. In February 2021, it was renamed Wise. The service has a web version, and also functions through mobile applications adapted to Android and iOS operating systems. At the moment, about 16 million users are connected to it.

Author: Elena Lysenko is a financial journalist

Source: Ministry of Finance

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