Tinkoff Bank is again changing the rules for transfers abroad through the SWIFT system. The financial institution has warned customers that all outgoing transfers via SWIFT will be stopped until October 1st. It will be impossible to withdraw money in any foreign currency, the innovations will not affect already sent transfers.
“From today until October 1, we are temporarily suspending outgoing SWIFT transfers in foreign currency,” the bank said in a statement.
The bank claims that it worked to the end to preserve transfers via SWIFT, but 95% dependence on foreign payment infrastructure forced the company to take this step. Tinkoff claims that the bank's efforts were not enough, and the risks for the provision of the service are caused by the actions of "Western partners". The bank intends to carry out all already sent SWIFT transfers, regardless of the difficulties.
All incoming transfers will be accepted by the bank, as before, in accordance with the established tariffs. At the moment, the minimum commission for an incoming transfer is $200, if the transfer does not exceed this amount, the commission will be equal to the size of the transfer – that is, the bank will take the entire transfer as a commission. At the same time, the bank claims that all money for SWIFT transfers will be directed to charitable purposes, which Tinkoff intends to talk about in the fall.
From the beginning of the war, Russian banks began to radically change the conditions for foreign exchange transactions on the accounts of Russians, in fact, they began to squeeze out foreign currency from accounts in order to reduce their own risks. Tinkoff Bank, in particular, has introduced commissions for storing currency on regular and brokerage accounts. Moreover, after the transfer of the share of Oleg Tinkov to Vladimir Potanin, the sanctions risks against the bank increased; before this transaction, the bank managed to avoid restrictive measures.
