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- Payment courtesy: families of SVO fighters will be helped to simplify account unblocking
Payment courtesy: families of SVO fighters will be helped to simplify account unblocking
The unblocking of cards and accounts can be simplified for the participants of the SVO and their families. Earlier, Izvestia reported that their mothers and wives could not get the locks lifted, which automatically occur when transferring large amounts due to anti-fraud measures. As a result, the soldiers' salaries do not reach their families, the Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland reported. The central Bank, in response to an appeal from a public organization, recommended that banks allocate their members and their families to a separate customer segment.
How will banking services change?
The Bank of Russia recommended that credit institutions allocate work with their participants and their family members to a separate segment, which would provide for a special client path. This is how the Central Bank responded to the appeal of the ANO "Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland" (KSVO). The NGO reported regular complaints about the blocking of personal accounts and cards in salary banks, through which ITS members send funds to their loved ones. The regulator's response is available to Izvestia.
In early February 2026, the NSWRB asked the Central Bank to introduce an operational mechanism for unblocking personal accounts, bank cards and transfers for its participants. They were frozen as part of anti-fraud measures — on suspicion of fraudulent activities.
As an example of a typical situation, a specific case was cited in the appeal: a serviceman whose cards were blocked contacted the bank's hotline, but he was informed that he needed to personally come to the office with a passport. There were also situations when the wives of fighters, despite having a general power of attorney, were refused to unlock and reissue their husbands' cards.
The central bank recalled that credit institutions are required to check whether funds have been transferred without the client's voluntary consent, and if such signs are found, suspend or refuse to perform the operation: "The measure is aimed at combating the theft of citizens' funds by transferring funds from victims' bank accounts to fraudsters' accounts."
Nevertheless, upon receiving confirmation of the transfer from the client, the credit institution is obliged to immediately perform such an operation, the Central Bank emphasized. And to solve the problem reported by the KVO, the regulator recommended that credit organizations, in particular, organize a dedicated line for interaction on complaints and appeals from CBO fighters and their family members, as well as conduct special training for employees.
The Central Bank also called on banks to simplify and accelerate the provision of financial services to their participants as much as possible.
What other recommendations did the Central Bank give?
Among the recommendations of the regulator to credit institutions is the preparation of information materials for the families of ITS participants. They should contain information about ways to protect against fraudsters. Such materials should also be sent to military units.
At the same time, the Central Bank called on banks to pay special attention to the protection of these funds, warning that "fraudsters are hunting for payments to their participants."
—The Central Bank has clearly expressed interest in solving the problem of blocking military personnel's cards," Alexander Ternovtsov, head of the legal service of the Committee of Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland, a member of the Russian Federation Security Council, told Izvestia. — It is important for us that, as we requested in our appeal, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation sent recommendations to banks on allocating ITS participants and their family members to a separate segment and suggested providing a special client route for them.
Alexander Ternovtsov expressed hope that the banks would respond to these proposals as soon as possible. When a participant in a special operation is the only breadwinner in the family and cannot unlock their cards or transfer funds to loved ones, time plays a serious role.
Elena Avakian, Adviser to the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of the Russian Federation, head of the digital transformation of the Russian Bar Association, recalled that the purpose of blocking is primarily to protect citizens. And she suggested that banks should be allocated a category of their participants and their families in a separate segment by assigning a special status on the Public Services portal. This should be done behind closed doors.
"And this portal data can be used for banks," the expert added.
Evgeniya Bezmalenko, a lawyer and mediator, a member of the International Association of Lawyers and Mediators 4legal, agreed that the problem with blocking accounts of ITS participants could be solved by confirming the status of a serviceman through state information systems.
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