Financial “visa-free” at risk: why the Rada is stalling Ukraine’s accession to SEPA and what we stand to lose

By mid-November the Rada must pass the bill required for Ukraine to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The reform promises businesses and citizens savings of hundreds of millions of euros in transfer fees, and the country – 1,4 billion dollars in international aid. Why the document is stuck in parliament, what it actually changes, and why members of parliament are blocking the eurointegration initiative — RBC-Ukraine investigated. Key points: 1,4 billion dollars at risk: passage of bill No.14327-d is a condition for funding from the EU (Ukraine Facility) and the World Bank (DPL-2). Savings on fees: after joining SEPA the cost of euro transfers could drop almost to zero (currently the fee reaches 15–50 euros). Account register without secrets: the register being created by the Ministry of Finance will contain only the fact of an account’s or safe’s existence, but not data on balances or cash flow. Political block: why deputies fear financial monitoring and are trying to tie the law to staffing requirements. Joining the Single Euro Payments Area — SEPA — is called the financial visa-free for Ukraine. It will allow euros to be sent and received between Ukraine and the EU faster and cheaper. The reform is also linked to the allocation of about 1,4 billion dollars in funding. Bohdan Slutsky, an economist at the Centre for Economic Strategy (CES), told RBC-Ukraine he allocated this sum as follows: almost 400 million dollars from the EU under the Ukraine Facility for meeting the SEPA condition; about 1 billion dollars from the World Bank. The parliamentary subcommittee on combating money laundering cites a different figure for the World Bank portion. As RBC-Ukraine MP from Servant of the People Olga Vasylevska-Smahliuk explained, 800 million dollars under the DPL-2 program are at risk. The bill was foreseen even in DPL-1 but was not implemented, and the World Bank forgave Ukraine at that time. However, it moved the condition to DPL-2 and made it clear: there will be no step back. If this requirement is not met under DPL-2, Ukraine simply will not see those 800 million dollars, she said. Why we cannot wait There is also a tight time factor. The main requirements of EU Regulation 2024/1624 — the updated anti-money-laundering rule package — will take effect from 10 July 2027 under the supervision of the new European AML authority, AMLA. Then the entry conditions for SEPA will become stricter: additional requirements for sanctions checks and verification of ultimate beneficial owners will appear. Compared to what we will have to implement later, this bill is rather mild, Vasylevska-Smahliuk emphasizes. According to her, after the bill is passed and signed by the president SEPA will accept Ukraine as a country. Then each bank will separately submit documents to the European Payments Council. If Ukraine does not have time to prepare, legislation will have to be redrafted to meet tougher rules, adds Bohdan Slutsky. Then the SEPA launch will most likely shift from 2028 to at least 2029. The economist reminded that Ukraine has already linked integration with subsequent reforms. In 2017 the country received visa-free travel for tourists even though improvements in border management continued. In 2022 the EU opened its market to Ukrainian goods before customs reform was completed. The same approach, he believes, is possible for SEPA. How much can be saved According to the Ministry of Finance, joining SEPA will allow annual savings of 70–100 million euros on fees. Analysts name a larger figure — up to 200 million euros (about 10 billion hryvnias). For small and medium exporters, the National Bank estimates average annual savings of up to 4 thousand euros. Those paying small amounts will feel the change the most. According to Vasylevska-Smahliuk, a transfer up to 200 euros currently costs on average about 20 euros. After joining SEPA the fee may fall to zero. A transfer of 20 thousand euros, which now costs business about 200 euros, will cost a few euros. The MP says this is especially important for refugees, students abroad, and families supporting relatives. The National Bank gives another example. A transfer of 500 euros from Ukraine to an account in Poland can now cost 15–50 euros, because the payment goes through several financial institutions. Exports, marketplaces and GDP For manufacturers, savings are also about competitiveness. Vasylevska-Smahliuk gives a simple example. If a Kharkiv producer sells a T-shirt for 20 euros, a European buyer currently pays about 20 euros for the payment itself, so 40 euros in total. After joining SEPA the T-shirt plus fee will cost about 21 euros. The National Bank estimates that reduced transaction costs and stimulation of IT services exports will add about 0,3% of GDP (by purchasing power parity) in the first year after SEPA transfers launch. Ukrainian companies will get easier access to a market of 500 million consumers. Are banks ready? Technically ready for SEPA implementation, Vasylevska-Smahliuk says, almost everything is in place. According to the information I have, 57 out of 59 Ukrainian commercial banks are already technically ready to join SEPA. They are only waiting for the relevant sectoral legislation to be passed by parliament, the MP noted. The National Bank is more cautious on timelines. In its survey, most banks see the possibility of technical connection within 6–12 months from the date Ukraine joins SEPA. Another 6–12 months, in practice, is taken by the application review at the European Payments Council. Read also: Ukraine took a step toward the European SEPA zone: Cabinet approved a package of draft laws Fears that banks will lose commission income are not shared by the regulator. According to it, European banks do not oppose Ukraine’s accession, and correspondent banks under the new model reduce their own costs and offer lower connection tariffs. Serhiy Mamedov, CEO of Globus Bank and vice president of the Association of Ukrainian Banks, reminded RBC-Ukraine that the bill’s goal is to ensure standardized, fast, and relatively cheap euro payments between Ukraine and SEPA countries. He says currently international transfers can take one to two banking days, while after full integration we are talking about hours, and sometimes almost instant settlements. Money for contracts will arrive faster, which increases trust in Ukrainian business as a partner within the shared financial space, he says. Neighbors’ experience: how SEPA reduces fees to zero Moldova became an operational part of SEPA on 6 October 2025. In the first nine months the average cost of a transfer to the EU there fell from 20 euros to 1,11 euros. The number of cross-border euro payments grew by 77%. The country’s savings in the first nine months amounted to about 11,6 million euros, according to CES. Montenegro reduced transfer fees to 200 euros from 74 euros to zero within eight months of launch. National Bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said on the AML HUB podcast “Follow the Money” that every time he hears from international colleagues how much their citizens save after joining SEPA, he is impressed. Ukrainian banks, he emphasized, are already technologically ready; only the legislative basis remains to be adopted. So it’s up to parliament, the central bank chief concluded. Political hijacking or fear of financial monitoring Although the bill is purely eurointegrationist, it faces resistance in the chamber. Vasylevska-Smahliuk asserts that the document has become a hostage to the political ambitions of certain forces. Some deputies, including Yuliya Sirko of Holos faction, call the requirements draconian and are trying to tie them to a reboot of the State Financial Monitoring Service or changes in NBU leadership. Holos demands that the bill include a competition with international experts for the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service. Vasylevska-Smahliuk says that is impossible because it is not within the scope of this document’s regulation. As a compromise she included a provision on an international audit of the service. But that is not enough for opponents. They demand a full reboot. This, Vasylevska-Smahliuk believes, should be done in a separate sectoral law. Other political groups, she says, state they will not vote as long as the NBU is headed by the current leadership. That is absurd, she says. After all, the NBU is not even the manager or administrator of the future register. The Ministry of Finance will create and maintain it. Read also: Ukraine will join the Single Euro Payments Area: at what stage is the process Partners acknowledge that opposition to the adoption of the relevant legislation exists in the Rada. Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Kateryna Maternova said in May that joining SEPA is something she would strongly recommend pushing quickly. It implies rules of transparency, anti-money-laundering, etc. And I understand that certain players resist this, the diplomat said. Despite political pressure, this reform is truly needed by Ukrainians, Maternova is convinced. I cannot convey how fantastic it is when I make a payment to Italy or Belgium and don’t even think about the transaction cost. It’s like making a domestic payment. In a situation where 6–7 million Ukrainians are forced to live abroad, and the cost of transfers can be about 50–70 euros, this is a huge additional expense, she explained. According to RBC-Ukraine sources in diplomatic circles, there are currently indeed no technical obstacles that would prevent Ukraine from joining the Single Euro Payments Area if the relevant legislation is adopted. Sweeteners for deputies and business The bill No.14327-d includes decisions that Vasylevska-Smahliuk calls a direct concession to business and deputies: the threshold for mandatory financial monitoring is raised from 400 thousand hryvnias to 550 thousand hryvnias; no increase in fines for banks and nonbank institutions, although international partners demanded it; a provision on international audit of the State Financial Monitoring Service and protection for whistleblowers in the anti-money-laundering sphere. Whistleblower protection is one of the two key conditions of the European Payments Council. A bank employee responsible for financial monitoring who refuses to process a suspicious payment must have legal guarantees of protection from pressure or unlawful dismissal. Vasylevska-Smahliuk says deputies systematically fear any initiatives in financial monitoring. They have PEP status (politically exposed persons), and they try to cancel their lifelong PEP status. Therefore every innovation in financial monitoring is treated cautiously. Although in reality, the MP stresses, deputies and other officials already declare bank accounts and safes in their annual NAPC declarations. No new secret information about them will appear in the register, she assures. What business says The business community assesses risks without dramatization. In particular, the European Business Association (EBA) conceptually supports the bill on Ukraine’s accession to SEPA and harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with EU anti-money-laundering norms. However, the organization calls on deputies to refine certain provisions of the document. The business community emphasizes that the reform must ensure a balance between European standards and the real capabilities of primary financial monitoring entities. Experts from the Association propose clarifying the definition of senior management so that responsibilities for approving internal financial monitoring rules fall to executive bodies rather than general shareholders’ meetings. They argue this will allow prompt responses to risks. Additionally, business supports simplifying verification of nonresident legal entities by using open government online registries instead of requiring paper legalized extracts. Critics raise the most questions about the unified register of accounts and safes. Claims about the destruction of banking secrecy or a register for the needs of the Tax and Customs Service, Vasylevska-Smahliuk calls political manipulation. She says the goal is to delay Ukraine’s financial eurointegration. Rumors about additional mass checks of individuals, she says, are also untrue. What the register will actually contain The register will not include data on account balances, cash flow, or contents of bank safes. Only basic information: the owner’s full name, the bank’s name so it is known where the account or safe exists (for the period it is opened). Law enforcement agencies can already obtain this information by official requests, the MP emphasizes. We are only streamlining the procedure to European standards, she assures. The National Bank notes this does not affect banking secrecy. Information in the register will retain confidential status, and access will be granted only to authorized bodies — for pretrial investigations via secure channels. These are the State Financial Monitoring Service, ARMA, NAPC, the prosecutor’s office, NABU, the Economic Security Bureau, the State Bureau of Investigation, the National Police and the SBU. According to the regulator, such registers are an established, standard, and mandatory practice in the EU. The Fifth Anti-Money-Laundering Directive obliged all member states to create mechanisms for identifying owners of accounts and safes. The idea of a register is neither unique nor punitive. It is actually about bringing the system of account records in line with unified European standards, agrees Serhiy Mamedov. Similar registers operate in many EU countries. They do not violate privacy, but provide a clear data structure for competent authorities, while not opening access to account details (balances or cash flow) to third parties. The register as protection against abuse The MP suggests looking at the problem from another angle. Currently any law enforcement officer can find out which bank a person has an account with simply by calling the institution. The citizen whose data was checked won’t even be notified, and no one is held accountable for the leak. In a unified register under the Ministry of Finance every search will leave a digital trace. The law enforcement officer will have to indicate the criminal proceeding number. And any citizen will be able to check who, when and on what grounds was interested in their account. This makes the process controlled and protects against abuse, Vasylevska-Smahliuk says. The law alone is not enough to make the register work. The National Bank reminds that it will not start automatically; practical work will begin only after adoption. Banks and the Ministry of Finance as the registry owner must be technically ready. There is already experience: banks transmit tax information on accounts of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. Smarter, not stricter, financial monitoring Bankers assure that for most people nothing will change. Routine payments — utilities, purchases, transfers to relatives — will continue without delays. Financial monitoring becomes smarter, not stricter, notes Serhiy Mamedov. A bank does not inspect every payment under a microscope, but reacts only when an operation truly deviates from a client’s normal financial behavior. The best way to avoid problems is transparency, using accounts for their intended purpose, and the ability to confirm the source of funds if necessary. Banks’ attention is drawn only to atypical and risky scenarios. Financial monitoring may sound scary in words, but in practice it applies to a very limited circle of operations, assures the CEO of Globus Bank. Beneficial owners and European rules The second condition of the European Payments Council is a register of ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of trusts and similar legal entities. It meets FATF requirements and should help remove fictitious corporate chains from the market. Serhiy Mamedov says the state is taking another step to ensure information about real business owners is truthful and verified. Formal filling of data is gradually becoming a thing of the past, he asserts, adding that tougher liability for false data creates a clear, predictable and trust-based financial environment. The National Bank also recalls another progress indicator. The assessment of equivalence of Ukraine’s banking regulation to EU standards has risen to 81,7% — versus 49% in 2022. This is an expert assessment by PwC commissioned by the National Bank with technical assistance from the EBRD. The highest level (over 90%) was achieved in sections on own funds, operational and market risks, macroprudential requirements and supervisory approaches. Further legislative changes are needed, including on securitization and resolution of bank insolvency. The first of these is bill No.15555 on improving the procedure for disclosure of banking secrecy by the National Bank of Ukraine. 10 September 2026 it was approved by the relevant committee for first reading. A maturity test for parliament Passage of bill No.14327-d should ensure transition to common rules with the EU. Experts estimate refusal to vote or attempts to drag out the process will deprive Ukrainians of savings of hundreds of millions of euros, and the state of about 1,4 billion dollars in support from international partners. At the same time the document has not even passed the first reading yet, Bohdan Slutsky reminds. It still awaits: the president’s signature, an application to the European Payments Council, its review, and banks’ connection. For Moldova this path took about 20 months. Therefore the economist calls a launch in 2028 an overly optimistic timeline. A delayed vote will push the reform to 2029 or later. Read also: Moldova joined the Single Euro Payments Area before Ukraine If it fails, this will be reflected in the European Commission’s report. Further lagging, warns the economist, will weaken Ukraine’s position and increase the risk that Moldova will advance toward the EU faster and separately from us. The irony is that this bill does not take money from citizens but allows them to save it. And this purely eurointegrationist document is now being blocked for political reasons. Attempts to block or delay adoption of a eurointegration bill are a classic example of political blackmail and protection of vested interests that have nothing to do with a professional discussion about the quality of NBU or State Financial Monitoring Service reforms. Reducing a purely technical document necessary for Ukraine’s accession to the Single Euro Payments Area to bargaining over personnel appointments or competitive procedures is an artificial manipulation. The bill’s authors have already made significant concessions, adding provisions on international audit and raising the financial monitoring threshold, yet opponents continue to make demands that lie completely outside the scope of this law’s regulation. The real motive of such resistance is deputies’ personal concerns over their own status as politically exposed persons (PEPs) and unwillingness to increase transparency of financial assets, as well as attempts to use an important eurointegration initiative as leverage, including on the NBU leadership. Claims about a threat to banking secrecy or complaints about the NBU leadership look manipulative also because the administrator of the future account register is the Ministry of Finance, and the register will record only the fact of an account’s existence — information officials already submit annually in NAPC declarations. In the end private and factional ambitions are placed above national interests, and citizens and businesses become hostages of political bargaining, losing the opportunity to save hundreds of millions of euros on fees while the country risks being left without 1,4 billion dollars of critically important international support.