Payment measurement: teenagers will be restricted access to electronic wallets
The central bank proposes to block another channel through which fraudsters involve teenagers in financial schemes, Izvestia has learned. As part of the "Anti-fraud 3.0" package, minors may be prohibited from registering electronic means of payment (EDS) without parental consent. The initiative should make it more difficult to use teenagers as droppers, but experts warn that it is important to determine exactly which services will fall under the new restrictions so that they do not affect everyday digital tools.
Which ESPs do they want to ban for teenagers
The amendments will affect minors between the ages of 14 and 18. According to the changes under discussion, the consent of parents, adoptive parents or guardians will be required to process an electronic means of payment. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation proposed to introduce such a norm as part of the preparation of the third package of measures to combat cyber fraud ("Antifraud 3.0"). The Ministry of Finance sent it for interdepartmental coordination.
In fact, the Central Bank proposes to extend the existing rule for bank accounts to electronic means of payment. Teenagers can now use e-wallets and other electronic payment systems without parental consent, as they do not require opening an account. The Ministry of Finance is ready to support the initiative after finalizing the document and coordinating it with other departments, it follows from the materials reviewed by Izvestia.
ESP is a means or method of transmitting a money transfer order without using cash. These include bank cards and mobile applications, electronic wallets, tokenized cards (Apple Pay, Cyberpay, and similar services).
The Central Bank of the Editorial Board said that the initiative is at the stage of elaboration.
— This is one of the possible measures aimed at minimizing the risk of minors being involved in high-risk financial transactions as fake individuals, drops. A final decision on this issue has not yet been made," the regulator said.
The Ministry of Finance noted that now the third package of measures to combat cyberbullying is being coordinated with the relevant departments and the Central Bank.
— It is premature to talk about specific details and the final version of the document. All initiatives are developed taking into account the balance of security and user rights. They are aimed at strengthening the protection of citizens from fraudsters in the Internet environment," the ministry said.
The new measures relate to non-bank electronic wallets, prepaid cards without account connection, as well as payment functions of digital platforms, marketplaces and gaming services, said Ilya Zharsky, managing partner of the Veta expert group.
— The main problem that the initiative is designed to solve is the involvement of teenagers in dropping schemes: making a wallet for a minor to receive and cash out stolen funds. Additionally, the risks of gambling, uncontrolled micropayments, and fraudsters' access to family money through a child are reduced. This may affect financial services such as electronic wallets and prepaid cards, as well as formally non—financial ones, but they are paid using the built-in wallets in messengers, marketplaces, games and delivery services," he added.
Since last year, a teenager can open a bank account and receive a card only with the written consent of his parents, adoptive parents or guardians. An exception is made only for minors who have married or received emancipated status. However, this requirement does not apply to e-wallets: they are opened without a bank account, so teenagers can register them themselves. According to Ilya Zharsky, it is precisely this legislative gap that the new initiative should eliminate.
According to him, in practice, it will not be possible to confirm parental consent by simply presenting a passport: the document certifies the age, but not the permit. Most likely, for this purpose, the application of the already existing service "Gosuslugi: for parents", which is now used when opening bank accounts, will be expanded. When registering a client aged 14-18, the wallet operator will be required to obtain the electronic consent of a legal representative through Gosuslugi before activating the tool, he said.
As Sofia Komissarova, senior analyst at the Center for Strategic Support of Domestic Technologies, noted, in three years the number of cases involving teenagers in dropping has increased 70 times. This applies to both accounts and transfers, as well as non-financial platforms where an electronic wallet allows you to pay for goods or withdraw funds to cards.
The expert recalled that Federal Law No. 178-FZ has been in force since August 1, 2025, which explicitly prohibits banks from opening accounts and issuing cards to teenagers without the written consent of their parents. In practice, consent can be obtained during a parent's personal visit to the bank, through a notary, or using an electronic signature, while the teenager is identified using a passport, and banks are required to notify parents of the card issue and may contact them in case of suspicious transactions, she said.
How effective will the ban be?
Banks are required to provide parents and legal representatives with statements of accounts and deposits that are opened in the name of their minor children, said Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research. But the statement does not allow you to control spending in real time, and you need to react instantly to the actions of scammers and even thoughtless spending: then there is still a chance to cancel the transaction, he pointed out. Therefore, it would be reasonable to ban the issuance of personal cards for teenagers aged 14-18, leaving only the possibility of issuing them a card attached to the account of their parents or guardians, Leonid Konik believes.
— Now the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has got its hands on electronic wallets, which the financial regulator suggests opening to teenagers only with the consent of their elders. But the problem of uncontrolled transactions, which exists with bank cards, also exists here," the expert noted. — It is impossible to connect a teenager's electronic wallet to an adult's wallet: according to the law, such a means of payment is issued to a specific person who has been verified using his passport.
Meanwhile, e-wallets are often the target of fraudsters, largely due to more lenient regulation compared to bank accounts, Leonid Konik claims. To protect teenagers from scammers, half measures are not suitable: in principle, it is necessary to prohibit them from opening electronic wallets or limit the amount of funds in them to 2-3 thousand rubles, he believes.
"We are not aware of the existence of such an initiative within the framework of the discussed third package of anti—fraud measures," the united company Wildberries & Russ noted. — We believe that the discussion of such initiatives should take place in accordance with the established procedure — through the procedure of public discussion of the draft law with the participation of all interested parties. This approach allows us to comprehensively assess the potential consequences of the proposals for citizens, businesses and the market as a whole.
Among the advantages of the initiative are protection from fraudsters, increased parental control, increased financial literacy and transparency for banks, Sofia Komissarova listed. However, there are also disadvantages — this is an increase in the bureaucratic burden, as well as ambiguity with transport cards like the Troika, which can be classified as ESP, but actually perform only the function of paying for travel, she added. Therefore, the law will need to clearly define which means of payment are subject to the ban, so as not to create excessive barriers to everyday services, she believes.
Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, agrees with this. Restrictions should be reasonable — it's really not worth prohibiting the purchase and replenishment of transport cards and the like, the expert noted.
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