Citizens will be able to transfer up to 30 million rubles between their accounts in different financial organizations without a commission
The State Duma concluded the work of the spring session of the State Duma with an effective bill. The normative act, which allows to transfer up to 30 million rubles to oneself between accounts in different banks without commission, was adopted by the deputies in the second reading at the last meeting. Its effect will apply to transfers in the Faster Payments System (FPS) or in the banking application. Why exactly now you can talk about a complete victory over «wage» slavery and who will be especially beneficial to the adopted bill — in the material «MK».
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At the moment, most banks charge a fee for transfers to other credit organizations, even if the accounts belong to one person. But after the entry into force of the new bill, banks will be prohibited from deducting commissions from clients for transfers by themselves to other credit institutions through the SBP system of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the amount of up to 30 million rubles. The banks themselves reacted very coolly to the initiative, because it actually deprives them of the opportunity to earn on transactions. So, the Association of Banks «Russia» noted that they themselves proposed to limit transfers without commission, but 100 times less, corresponding to the size of the average deposit, that is, up to 300 thousand rubles. The original bill included a proposal to increase transfers without fees to the size of the insured amount of the deposit, which today corresponds to 1.4 million rubles. However, the final version of the normative act included “it is not clear where” the requirement to make transfers without a commission in the amount of up to 30 million rubles.
To this, one of the main initiators of the amendments, Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Duma Committee on the Financial Market, said that citizens had repeatedly approached him with complaints that a commission was charged when transferring money from an account in one bank to an account in another bank — and quite a decent one. . “Sometimes citizens sell an apartment, a land plot, something expensive, and it is necessary to transfer money to another bank, so they considered it unfair that they should transfer their money with commissions,” the deputy explained the reason for choosing a large amount for the final restriction.
The idea to abolish fees is not new; the Central Bank of the Russian Federation came up with this initiative back in November 2021. And in the first reading, the State Duma approved the draft law in December 2022. According to the regulator, this should lead to the improvement of competition between banks. The adopted bill should finally overcome the so-called «wage slavery» — a system in which a person cannot transfer his money from a «salary» bank card without loss to an account in another bank. In theory, any citizen has the right to choose a bank for salary transfer, however, in practice, employers most often insist on issuing a card to employees in one credit institution with which they have a good relationship or where they receive additional preferences for this (for example, loans at reduced rates, etc.). In order to transfer money to another bank, Russians used to often have to go to an ATM, withdraw their salary and carry it to another financial institution in order to carry out the transaction without a commission. Now the need for this will disappear.
“The law was adopted in the interests of citizens, and, of course, banks that are already counting losses do not like it very much, and, according to the statement of the Rossiya Banking Association, this type of banking business may be in danger of being curtailed,” notes financial expert Mikhail Spektor. — It is quite natural that banks do not want to lose their source of income and work for free. Indeed, it will be easier for consumers of banking services to use their money, and the “wage slavery” mentioned in the explanatory note to the law is not a myth at all. Now you and I will be able to use our funds in the banking organization of our choice, which is a healthier practice not only in relation to salaries.”
Another category of Russians who will definitely be delighted with the adopted law is mortgage lenders and property owners. When selling property, such as apartments, people sometimes face restrictive conditions on the use of their money, they cannot withdraw cash, they are told that the money must be “laid in the account,” and when they try to transfer to another bank, they charge a high commission. In addition, it is not safe to withdraw a large amount. According to Evgeny Kalyanov, an expert on the stock market at BCS World of Investments, now individuals will not need to take risks and cash out large amounts, and the movement of funds for the banking system will be more transparent.
The initiative is also beneficial for the state » Most likely, the appearance of the law is due to the desire of the authorities to increase the transparency of the movement of funds,” says Polina Gusyatnikova, senior managing partner at the law firm PG Partners. — When it comes to non-cash transactions, it is much more convenient for the state to track the movement of funds, including in terms of fulfilling tax obligations. The more transparent the system, the less money goes into the shadows.” Thus, the abolition of commissions for interbank transfers is disadvantageous only for the banks themselves. Perhaps they will try to make up for the losses elsewhere, for example by increasing commissions on some other product or service. Most likely, the consumer will pay for it again, the expert warned.