Today, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Oleksandr Pysaruk and representatives of the NBU subdivisions responsible for overseeing foreign exchange offices have met with representatives of non-bank currency exchange offices.
“The National Bank seeks to engage in a dialogue and reach and an understanding with market participants. Therefore, four companies licensed to conduct currency exchange transactions, and 11 companies that have applied for a license to perform such operations have been invited to today’s meeting, – said Oleksandr Pysaruk. – The National Bank is involved in efforts to enhance the transparency of currency exchange offices and tighten control over their activities. We will impose new requirements and set a transition period intended to allow these companies to remedy irregularities. The main aim of this process is to have a transparent and understandable market.
According to Oleksandr Pysaruk, the National Bank has a mandate to oversee only legitimate currency exchange offices.
“Only licensed currency exchange offices are subject to inspections and oversight by the regulator. I would like to remind you that the underground business is outside the bounds of oversight by the National Bank of Ukraine. We have served the Ministry of Internal Affairs with numerous letters providing information about illegal currency exchange offices and their addresses and hope that our efforts would be met with an adequate response from the law enforcement agencies,” said Oleksandr Pysaruk.
During the meeting, the participants discussed ownership structure transparency requirements, higher capital and reporting requirements, as well as requirements obliging currency exchange offices to use cash registers (CR), and enhanced physical security requirements for premises.
It is planned to impose a requirement as to the amount of cash advance in foreign and domestic currencies, set a ceiling on foreign currency cash balances, and require currency exchange offices to publish information on buying and selling exchange rates of foreign currencies on their websites. The National Bank of Ukraine also suggests the physical security requirements for the premises of certain non-bank financial institutions be enhanced.
In addition, the National Bank introduces a report on daily cash flow and cash balances, which will enable inspectors to establish the amount of cash balances and currency in which they are available at the time of inspection.
The meeting participants discussed an idea of establishing a registry of legitimate currency exchange offices.
The market participants backed the National Bank of Ukraine in its efforts to ensure the market's transparency and quality. It was decided to set up Working Groups to bridge the existing divisions over certain issues between the National Bank and market participants.