The restrictions on financial transactions will affect Russian residents since the accounts of legal entities will be closed. If the individual does not have the right to reside in a country that is acceptable by the policy, accounts of private individuals will be closed. Transactions in Russian roubles will be terminated. Transfers to Russian or Belarusian banks have been terminated for all customers if the recipient is a Russian or Belarusian company. Companies that are registered outside Russia, but whose main shareholders are Russian citizens and don't have the right to reside in one of the countries acceptable to the company, will not be able to stay as the company's clients.
The EU sanctions imposed on Russian banks on February 22 are a compromise that are intended to be approved by all EU member states. We will no longer process all transactions related to Russia, because we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainians. We want to send the message that we can all have an impact through the choices we make, even though we are not a giant in the financial market. "While we refuse to transfer money, someone else might refuse to insure, produce, advise, invest, or provide transport," said Gintautas Me etis, CEO of Paysera.
He explains that by imposing restrictions on Russia-related operations, the company is reducing operational risk.
We do have the right to choose which clients we find acceptable and the extent of services we want to provide to them, even though we can't impose sanctions. It is not enough to impose sanctions on the decision-makers. There are many people driving tanks and contributing to the occupation of Ukraine that we are unable to identify. The CEO of Paysera says Russian citizens are partly responsible for the current government and its decisions, just as Belarusian citizens are partly responsible for the Belarusian government's decisions.
Clients will be notified of the restrictions on transactions in the coming days. A 60 day notice period is required before the restrictions are implemented, according to the agreement with the clients.
According to G. Me etis, it is possible that the EU and the US will impose stricter sanctions on Russia's financial sector in the next month or two, rather than the ones introduced on February 22. In this case,Paysera would implement the EU or US sanctions immediately instead of having to comply with the notice period, in line with the applicable legal requirements.
Russian citizens will not be able to use Paysera accounts, but the restriction will not apply to Russian citizens who have a residence permit in another country acceptable to the company. Existing accounts will be closed after the contractual notice period.
Russian and Belarusian companies won't be able to use Paysera accounts. All existing accounts will be closed.
All Paysera clients will not be able to transfer money in all currencies to Russian and Belarusian banks if the recipient is a legal entity. They will not be able to receive transfers from them between natural persons who are not sanctioned for the time being, but will be subject to more frequent and thorough checks on their origin and destination 4. The Russian Roubles RUB will no longer be available for Paysera clients. It will be possible to exchange existing roubles.
Money transfers from and to WebMoney a Russian-owned electronic payment system have already been suspended.
There will not be any new accounts opened for legal clients whose main shareholders don't have a residency permit in a country accepted by the company.