The Council adopted in the first reading the draft law on the accession of Ukraine to SEPA

The Verkhovna Rada adopted in the first reading a revised draft law that prepares Ukraine to join the SEPA Single Euro Payments Area. The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine informed about the vote.

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a common payment space used by more than 500 million people and companies in 41 European countries. For SEPA participants, transfers to euro between banks of different countries pass almost instantly and without the participation of intermediary banks.

Currently, Ukrainians who live or work in the European Union pay several tens of euros for the transfer of funds home - the funds pass through several intermediary banks, and part of the amount is taken by commissions. The Ministry of Finance explained that after joining SEPA, the cost of the transfer will be from 0 to 5 euros, and the money will reach the recipient almost immediately.

The changes also affect business: now Ukrainian entrepreneurs who receive payment from European clients in euros sometimes pay more for the transaction than the product itself is worth. The Ministry of Finance estimates that waiving excess commissions will leave 70-100 million euros in the Ukrainian economy every year, and in the first year after the launch of SEPA transfers, this could add up to 0.3% of GDP at purchasing power parity.

What else does the draft law change?

• The threshold for the amount of transactions subject to mandatory financial monitoring will be raised from the current 400,000 hryvnias to the equivalent of more than 10,000 euros (roughly 550,000 hryvnias) - with the exception of gambling, where the threshold will remain at the level of 55,000 hryvnias.
• Ukraine will create a Register of accounts and safes and a register of ultimate beneficial owners of trusts. The Ministry of Finance emphasizes that the register will contain only basic data - IBAN, the name of the account holder and the name of the bank, without information about balances or movement of funds, so it does not violate bank secrecy.
• Fines for violations of financial monitoring will not be increased.

The law will enter into force six months after its official publication, except for the rules on registers of accounts and trusts - they will come into force no later than the entry into force of the agreement on Ukraine's membership in EU. In the Ministry of Finance, joining SEPA is also called one of the conditions for Ukraine to receive financial support from the European Union and the World Bank.