The National Bank announced whether Kyrgyz citizens will be charged a 1.5% fee for transfers in rubles

The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan commented to Akchabar on the information that appeared about charging a commission of 1.5% to recipients of money transfers in Russian rubles. Earlier, the AstraSend money transfer system and a number of commercial banks, including Ayil Bank, reported on the introduction of such a tariff.

According to the regulator's response, a resolution of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic dated December 3 of this year establishes that from January 1 to December 31, 2026, commercial banks and payment organizations are prohibited from charging any commissions to recipients of international money transfers. This applies provided that the transfer is issued without opening a bank account.

“The ban applies to all commercial banks and payment organizations supervised by the National Bank,” the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic told Akchabar.

Thus, the 1.5% commission introduced on December 1 can only remain in effect until the end of this year. From January 1, 2026, the application of such tariffs on the receiving side will contradict the regulatory act.

The National Bank emphasized that the ban applies exclusively to commissions charged in the republic when issuing a transfer.

“The above ban does not apply to commissions charged to the sender of a money transfer in another country,” the National Bank noted.

It should be noted that the Astrasend transfer system, when referring to the introduction of a 1.5% fee, cites the fact that this rule was introduced in Kyrgyzstan: “From December 1, organizations that make money transfers in Kyrgyzstan in Russian rubles have the right to charge a commission of up to 1.5% of the transfer amount from the recipient.” However, our banks, on the contrary, report that the tariffs for issuing money transfers in Russian rubles have changed at the initiative of the Astrasend payment system operator.