The Central Bank tightened the rules for issuing microloans in Russia from July 1, 2026

Since July 1, 2026, the Bank of Russia has introduced new rules for microfinance organizations, significantly changing the procedure for issuing loans, and now borrowers, like bank customers, need to confirm income with official documents. This was announced on July 3 by Anna Lagutenko, director of the Money At Once company.

It is noted that one of the key changes was the revision of the calculation of the debt burden indicator (PD). If earlier MFIs could take into account income data from the client's words, now, in the absence of supporting documents, organizations are required to calculate solvency according to regional standards with a mandatory reduction of 10%.

This leads to a decrease in estimated income and, as a result, to an increase in personal income tax, which directly affects the available loan amount.

"If there is no certificate, then in accordance with the rules for calculating personal income tax, the client may receive a loan amount less than expected," Lagutenko explained to the Prime agency.

The new basic standard of the Central Bank has also strengthened control over additional services. MFIs can no longer mark the client's consent to insurance or other paid options in advance — each connection must be confirmed separately. In addition, visual techniques that can hide conditions or focus only on advantageous parameters are prohibited.

According to the expert, the document also clarifies the procedure for reviewing citizens' appeals and the rules for collecting overdue debts. The new requirements apply to both offline and online loans. According to estimates by the Central Bank, there are about 15 million MFI borrowers in Russia, and in the first quarter of 2026, the volume of loans decreased by 7%.

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In May 2026, the share of refusals for car loan applications in Russia decreased by 10 percentage points (pp) compared to the end of last spring and amounted to 73.8%. Compared to April of this year, the indicator decreased by 2 percentage points. The share of refusals in car loans has been decreasing for the fourth month in a row, but is still at a high level, experts said.