The National Bank of Ukraine has put forward a large-scale draft of changes to the rules on disclosure of banking secrecy for public discussion. The initiative has caused a wide resonance, but experts are quick to reassure the population: total control over citizens' finances is not expected. The main addressees of the innovations will be debtors, while for other bank clients the procedures will become more digital and transparent.
Digitalization instead of total control
The main goal of the regulator is to bring internal instructions into compliance with the new Law No. 4833-IX on the digitalization of enforcement proceedings, which will come into full force on October 23, 2026. The project is also aimed at optimizing the control functions of the National Bank itself.
Sergey Naumov, President of the National Association of Banks of Ukraine (NABU), emphasized in a comment to RBC-Ukraine that the proposed amendments do not mean opening banking secrecy to all state bodies. Access to confidential information will remain possible only in cases strictly defined by law.
"For the average client, the bank will not start transmitting all information about all clients. For most citizens and businesses, there will be no daily changes," Naumov assured.
New mechanisms for debt collection
The most tangible changes will affect clients included in the Unified Register of Debtors. After the law comes into force, state and private bailiffs will receive expanded powers to obtain information. Now, arrest can be imposed not only on funds in bank accounts but also on electronic wallets and electronic money.
In particular, the procedure for banks to provide information on the types of client accounts and the terms of deposit contracts is clarified. This will simplify the process of debt collection and make it more effective.
Simplification of procedures for conscientious payers
Paradoxically, the changes also provide for easing life for debtors willing to settle their accounts. If the debt amount does not exceed ten minimum wages (86,470 hryvnias), the system will work automatically.
After full repayment of the debt, the Automated Enforcement Proceedings System will send a notification to the bank. Based on this document, the debtor will be removed from the Unified Register, and the arrest on their funds will be lifted without additional bureaucratic procedures.
Flexibility for the regulator
A separate block of changes concerns the interaction of the National Bank with financial institutions. The project removes the norm allowing the regulator to request information with banking secrecy only within the framework of planned inspections or official supervision. This will give the NBU the necessary procedural flexibility.
However, as Sergey Naumov noted, it is important to maintain a balance. "Banking secrecy should not be an instrument for evading the execution of legal decisions or supervision. But access to it must be strictly limited, justified and controlled. Clients' trust in the banking system is no less important than the efficiency of state procedures," summarized the President of NABU.
