Several significant developments emerged today in the banking sector across Belarus and Russia, with various banks announcing changes to their services and fee structures.
Belarusian bank 'Reshenie' notified customers of unilateral changes to card usage agreements effective December 1 for contracts signed by October 30. Meanwhile, BNB-Bank will alter its fee structure for cashless transactions starting December 19, calculating commissions based on the transfer amount received by the bank rather than the credited amount.
MTBank announced modifications to its mobile application service agreement, effective December 20, which will introduce new currency exchange functionalities in the Moby Exchange platform, allowing users to execute transactions at improved rates.
VTB Bank (Belarus) disclosed that, from December 20, it will enhance its remote banking services by adding cross-border transfer capabilities via the Instant Payment System.
Alpha Bank reported changes to its rewards program, effective December 23, applying previously established fees for P2P transfers to transactions made through the BELKART system. Additionally, the bank will cease servicing 'Alpha Aliexpress' cards on December 30, blocking them simultaneously.
In Russia, the likelihood of interest rate hikes has increased following the Central Bank's inflation report, which indicated persistent inflationary pressures. The Bank of Russia is expected to discuss the key rate at its board meeting on December 20, aiming for tighter monetary conditions to temper demand growth.
Starting December 2, UniCredit Bank in Russia will raise its commission for cashless foreign currency transfers to 5%, with a minimum fee of $500 and a maximum of $1,000, up from the current 2%.