The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) decided to increase to EUR 200,000 the e-limit on some foreign exchange transactions by individuals to transfer funds abroad or into accounts that nonresident legal entities have opened in Ukraine. The ruling came into effect on February 5.
“The NBU estimates that this easing measure will not disrupt the operation of Ukraine’s FX market, one of the reasons being that individuals have been able to freely buy non-cash foreign currency for more than a year now, without having to make any commitments or justify these transactions. In 2020, individuals transferred about EUR 274 million abroad within the e-limit. This amount is lower than the average daily trading volume in the interbank FX market,” said NBU Deputy Governor Yuriy Heletiy.
According to the NBU, favorable foreign exchange market conditions create needed “prerequisites for the gradual liberalization of currency regulation, and the increase in the e-limit comes as another step in the currency liberalization”.
“As one of its priorities under the Currency Liberalization Roadmap, the NBU aims to completely remove the e-limit on international investments by individuals. This will be possible after a raft of draft laws on combating BEPS (under the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) are passed and implemented,” reads the report.
The regulator added that the NBU continued to promote the use of digital analogues of paper documents. In particular, the NBU has allowed banks and non-bank financial institutions to use digital passports in the mobile application Diia for foreign exchange transactions with individuals, if the required technological capabilities are available. (Ukrinform/Business World Magazine)
