The Verkhovna Rada was asked to postpone the identification of customers of bitcoin exchanges and payment systems

From April 28, Ukraine will introduce mandatory identification for senders of cryptocurrency transactions andonline transfers.In the absence of clear explanations from the National Bank, this is fraught with the “complete destruction of the electronic money market,” warn members of the Ukrainian Association of Payment Systems (UAPS).

According to their statement, «The Law onAnti-money laundering» does not provide alternative operating rules that are understandable to the market and puts banks, insurers, payment systems and postal operators providing funds transfer services, as well as service providers related to the turnover of virtual assets, at risk.

«Ukraine has not introduced rules for remoteidentification, there are no clear new rules for issuing electronic money and prepaid cards, and there are also no developed technical capabilities for quickly verifying client data»,- UAPS notes, adding that «many market players will have to choose: work with violations or stop activities».

Special attention should be paid to virtual assets that are introduced by this document in the legal field.

«Today there is noany law regulating the cryptocurrency market. The only mention of virtual assets is in the law on financial monitoring. It describes the general aspects of identification, but does not provide any regulatory documents that would reveal their essence. We ask that there be clear and understandable rules of the game and conditions for carrying out these operations»,— UAPS President Antonina Murashko said in a comment to ForkLog.

In this regard, the Association of Payment Systemsappealed to the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada with a request to postpone financial monitoring in relation to the above entities for 6 months from the date of bringing the NBU in compliance with this Law.

«It takes time to develop the technical basis and by-laws to carry out these operations. We really hope that we will be heard»,- added Murashko.

At the same time, the problem may not be global in nature, assumes Managing Partner of Juscutum Law Firm Artem Afyan:

«Don’t forget that payments in the EU are alreadyfollow these rules and, at the very least, cope with their tasks. There is now tension because the regulator is reluctant to provide clear clarification of the rules. This is not the first and, unfortunately, not the last such case in Ukraine. I think that Ukrainians will not feel the consequences of this, but business will certainly experience another discomfort.”

At the same time, there is no reason to expect mass departure of the business to cryptocurrencies:

«These tools solve different problems. Cryptocurrencies are attracting attention amid inflation and the threat of default. And due to difficulties with utilities, crypto wallets will not be opened»,- added the lawyer.

In December, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law onimplementation of FATF standards to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, including, among other things, a provision on virtual assets. It takes effect on April 28th. Within three months, the NBU should bring its regulatory framework in accordance with the law.

ForkLog analyzed how the provisions of the document will affect the owners of cryptocurrencies.