The National Bank of Ukraine’s (NBU) increase of the monthly limit on non-cash foreign currency purchases by individuals from 50,000 UAH to 200,000 UAH may lead to a short-term rise in demand, but will not have a significant impact on the foreign exchange market, according to bankers surveyed by Interfax-Ukraine.
“In our opinion, there may be a certain surge in demand for non-cash foreign currency purchases in the first few days after the changes take effect,” said Emal Bakhtari, director of the financial instruments sales department at Raiffeisen Bank.
According to him, the proportion of customers who previously found the monthly limit of 50,000 UAH insufficient is relatively small. He suggested that the National Bank would, if necessary, smooth out short-term spikes in demand through currency interventions.
Serhiy Mamedov, Chairman of the Board of Globus Bank, also does not expect a proportional increase in demand following the fourfold increase in the limit. According to him, the limit determines only the maximum possible transaction amount, whereas the public’s purchase of cash foreign currency was not previously restricted by a similar monthly limit.
Currency liberalization in and of itself is unlikely to pose a threat to exchange rate stability at this point, Mamedov believes. Substantial international reserves give the regulator the ability to smooth out excessive exchange rate fluctuations, and the high discount rate should maintain the attractiveness of hryvnia-denominated instruments; however, this model depends to a large extent on the regularity of international financial assistance.
Anton Kurinny, a dealer in OTP Bank’s Global Markets Department, also forecasts an increase in demand for foreign currency but does not expect this to have a significant impact on the interbank market, where importers’ needs and the shortfall in export proceeds remain the more significant factors.
According to Kurinnyi, additional demand may also arise in the cash market following the increase in the daily limit for currency withdrawals from 100,000 UAH to 200,000 UAH, since the cash exchange rate hovers close to interbank quotes and is sometimes even lower than them.
Mamedov identified the worsening balance between goods imports and exports as a separate risk. According to the data he cited, in January–July 2026, goods imports totaled $58.1 billion, while exports amounted to $24.1 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of approximately $34 billion.
According to the banker, a further increase in the trade imbalance and problems with maritime logistics could intensify structural demand for foreign currency and the need for NBU interventions, while the dynamics of reserves will also depend on the volume of international financing.
Oleksandr Pecheritsyn, director of the analytical research department at Raiffeisen Bank, assesses the risk of a significant outflow of household savings from hryvnia deposits and domestic government bonds (OVGZ) into foreign currency as limited.
In his view, hryvnia-denominated deposits and domestic government bonds remain more attractive than holding savings in foreign currency cash, and the growth in household investments in domestic government bonds was primarily driven by their higher returns relative to the expected devaluation of the hryvnia.
At the same time, Pecheritsyn suggests that raising the limit on non-cash foreign currency purchases could reduce the volume of so-called “technical” foreign currency deposits, which households opened for three months to subsequently obtain foreign currency.
“If the volume of such deposits declines and banks need foreign currency resources to conduct active operations—particularly lending—interest rates on foreign currency deposits may rise slightly. At the same time, this will not necessarily become a general trend across the entire banking sector,” he noted.
Raising the daily limit on cash foreign currency withdrawals could theoretically also boost public interest in foreign currency deposits; however, according to Pecheritsyn’s assessment, given the population’s average incomes and savings, this effect will not be widespread and will not lead to a significant increase in such deposits.
As previously reported, effective August 11, the NBU increased the monthly limit on the public’s purchase of non-cash foreign currency from 50,000 hryvnias to 200,000 hryvnias and extended it to include the purchase of non-cash bank metals and securities issued by foreign entities.
The regulator also raised the daily limit on cash withdrawals by individuals from foreign currency accounts in Ukraine and abroad from 100,000 hryvnias to 200,000 hryvnias and eased a number of other foreign exchange restrictions for individuals and legal entities.
The National Bank stated that the new package of easing measures will not pose risks to the stability of the foreign exchange market and has already been factored into the updated macroeconomic forecast, which projects an increase in international reserves to nearly $70 billion by 2026.
The National Bank of Ukraine is preparing a new, large-scale foreign exchange liberalization package that, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war, is expected to significantly expand individuals’ opportunities to conduct foreign exchange and financial transactions abroad. NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy made this announcement on August 10. According to him, a significant portion of the consultations with the International Monetary Fund regarding this new phase of liberalization has already been completed, and the National Bank plans to announce the final details once the necessary procedures are finalized.
“We are preparing a currency liberalization package that, for the first time, will have a tangible impact on individuals as well,” said the NBU Governor.
Until now, the main stages of currency liberalization during the war have focused primarily on businesses: the NBU has gradually expanded opportunities for paying for imports, servicing foreign loans, repatriating dividends, and attracting capital from abroad. Transactions by individuals, including money transfers abroad, are part of a later stage of lifting restrictions in the NBU’s strategy.
According to sources in the banking sector, one of the main expected changes will be an increase in the monthly limit on transfers by individuals from foreign currency cards issued by Ukrainian banks to cards abroad, from 100,000 UAH to 200,000 UAH in equivalent value. Sources also note a possible roughly twofold increase in a number of other existing foreign currency limits; however, the NBU has not yet officially published their final parameters.
Currently, the NBU allows transfers from a foreign-currency payment card issued by a Ukrainian bank to another individual’s card abroad of up to 100,000 UAH equivalent per month. Transfers from hryvnia cards directly to cards issued by foreign banks remain prohibited.
For hryvnia cards, there is also a limit on non-cash payments for goods and services abroad of 100,000 UAH equivalent per month. Cash withdrawals abroad from hryvnia accounts are limited to 12,500 UAH equivalent per seven calendar days. There are no general limits of this type for payments with foreign currency cards for ordinary goods and services, although certain restrictions remain in place for some categories of transactions.
Thus, if the changes announced by the banking market are approved as expected, the new package will become one of the most significant relaxations of restrictions directly affecting Ukrainian citizens starting in 2022. Above all, it will simplify support for relatives abroad, the use of funds from Ukrainian accounts during extended stays abroad, and other cross-border transactions by individuals.
At the same time, this new phase of liberalization does not mean the complete abolition of foreign exchange controls.
The NBU maintains a managed floating exchange rate regime and continues to cover the structural foreign exchange deficit in the market through its own interventions. According to the regulator’s strategy, the further lifting of restrictions depends not on a predetermined timeline, but on the state of the foreign exchange market, international reserves, inflation, and other macrofinancial conditions.
The transition to easing restrictions for the general public is of particular importance, as such measures are part of the third stage of currency liberalization in the NBU’s roadmap, alongside foreign investments, freer capital flows, and the expansion of other cross-border financial transactions. At the same time, the NBU may implement certain steps from different stages in parallel, provided that macroeconomic conditions permit.
In January 2026, the NBU had already significantly expanded opportunities for businesses by introducing a so-called “credit limit,” which allows companies to use foreign loans raised after January 1 for a range of transactions, including servicing existing debts and additional repatriation of dividends. In April, the regulator implemented another round of easing measures for certain categories of individuals and companies.
The final amounts of the new limits for individuals, the date they take effect, and the full list of permitted transactions are to be determined by a separate decision of the NBU’s Board. As of the afternoon of August 10, the relevant resolution had not yet been published on the regulator’s official website.
The State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS) has uncovered evidence of a coordinated network of over 2,300 companies that effectively ceased to exist after conducting foreign economic transactions totaling over 198 billion UAH, reported Lesya Karnaukh, Acting Head of the STS.
“It took quite some time to uncover this scheme. Its participants are becoming increasingly inventive in their methods of concealing violations. To determine the riskiness of the transactions being conducted, we analyzed data sets using risk-based approaches… Such a concentration of management functions is atypical for real business and indicates signs of the organized use of such individuals as nominal managers,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
According to the agency head, the relevant data was obtained based on an analysis of information from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) regarding violations of payment deadlines for the period from 2024 to the first quarter of 2026. The majority of transactions involved the export of goods: 1,243 companies carried out exports totaling over 176 billion UAH, while 555 companies conducted import transactions totaling over 18 billion UAH.
Lesya Karnaukh specified that 73% of the offending companies and 78% of the total volume of transactions are concentrated in seven regions: Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as in Kyiv. Tax authorities recorded the mass re-registration of hundreds of companies under the same individuals, as well as the use of shared IP addresses and mass registration addresses in Kyiv and Lviv. In particular, seven individuals were identified, each of whom simultaneously serves as the director or founder of over 500 companies.
Based on data from the National Bank of Ukraine, tax authorities have already conducted audits and assessed over UAH 70 billion in penalties for violations of foreign exchange legislation in the field of foreign economic activity. The State Tax Service has forwarded all collected materials to the Office of the Prosecutor General for a legal assessment. Regarding 557 business entities, the agency has already prepared analytical conclusions indicating violations of the law and signs of money laundering.
State-owned PrivatBank (Kyiv) raised limit on cash withdrawal at ATMs of its network for foreign cards and cards of other banks up to UAH 20 thousand per a transaction once in three hours since November 23, press-service of financial institution informed on Thursday.
“The increase in card cash-out limits for all Ukrainian and foreign banks will allow clients of all banks to access cash when necessary,” said PrivatBank board member for retail business Dmitry Musienko, quoted by the press service.
He added that at the moment there are more than 5 thousand ATMs in the network of PrivatBank in all regions of Ukraine.
The press service of the bank specified to Interfax-Ukraine news agency that previously the limit on withdrawal at PrivatBank ATMs of foreign and foreign cards was 10 thousand UAH.
ATMs, CASH, LIMIT, PRIVATBANK
From December 31, 2023, Ukraine will limit to a minimum the content of phosphates and other phosphorus compounds in household detergents (up to 0.1-0.2 gram), and from December 31 of the same year to December 31, 2026 will gradually limit the content of phosphates in industrial detergents (up to 0.05-0.1%). The relevant resolution on amendments to the technical regulations for detergents was adopted by the government at a session on Wednesday.
According to it, the document suggests limiting the content of phosphates in laundry detergents for household washing machines to 0.2 gram at the recommended wash dose for the main washing machine cycle, and in household dishwashers – up to 0.1 gram at a standard dose for loading a dishwasher with a table set for 12 persons.
In addition, from the same date, the mass fraction of total phosphorus in detergents for hand washing, laundry and cleaning, as well as in other detergents, is limited to 0.05% phosphorus.
At the same time, the previous technical regulation included only a washing powder (with a limitation of the phosphorus content to 0.5 gram in the dose recommended for washing in a washing machine) and a detergent for household dishwashers (0.3 gram), but the new edition suggests replacing a washing powder into a detergent for laundry and detailing into products for household and industrial use.
Limits on the content of total phosphorus in detergents used for industrial laundry, washing and cleaning are introduced in stages: in detergents for industrial washing machines it should be reduced from 0.1% from December 31, 2023 to 0.05% as of December 31, 2026, and for industrial dishwashers – from 0.25% to 0.1%.
At the same time, the voluntary application of the established restrictions is possible before the specified dates.
According to the document, the Cabinet of Ministers ordered the Ministry of Economy to update the List of National Standards for determining methods of testing detergents for compliance with the technical regulations within six months from the date of entry into force of the resolution.
In addition, the ministry, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the State Customs Service and the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, must develop and submit for approval to the Cabinet of Ministers a draft plan of measures for state market supervision and control of products for compliance with the technical regulations.
The regulation is effective six months from the date of publication (excluding the established dates for the reduction of phosphate content).
The explanatory note to the document notes that, according to official statistics, in recent years, there has been a tendency for a significant amount of phosphate-containing pollutants to enter the water bodies of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the introduction of restrictions on the content of phosphates in detergents allows expecting a significant improvement of the ecological state of Ukrainian water bodies, primarily large rivers – the main sources of drinking water supply, in particular, reducing their eutrophication (bio-mass generation in a water-body).
The Ministry of Economy and grain market participants have agreed on a maximum corn export volume for the 2020/2021 marketing year (MY) in the amount of 24 million tonnes and will amend the annex to the memorandum of understanding between the grain market participants, the ministry said in a statement following a meeting held on January 25.
“Now, according to the regions, the projected corn production is 30.3 million tonnes, which is one of the best corn yields in all years. The Ministry of Economy believes that there are no problems with exporting corn to foreign markets or a probable shortage of this crop in the domestic market,” Economy Minister Ihor Petrashko said.
The report indicates that, if necessary, the parties agreed to revise the approved maximum amount of corn allowed for export, after the publication of official statistics on crop production in 2020.
As reported, the associations of poultry and livestock breeders initiated the restriction of corn exports at the level of 22 million tonnes in 2020/2021 MY in the “grain” memorandum. They argue their proposal to limit exports by the need to guarantee the domestic market 7.5 million tonnes of corn for production of animal feed.
The Ukrainian Grain Association considers the volume of corn exports at the level of 24 million tonnes acceptable for the market participants and corresponding to their forecasts of the harvest of this crop, acting executive director of the association Serhiy Ivaschenko told Interfax-Ukraine. Earlier, the association opposed the restriction of corn exports at the level of 22 million tonnes, since, in its opinion, the real goal of the initiators of the restrictions was to create an artificial surplus in the domestic grain market to reduce prices.
One of the members of the American Chamber of Commerce told Interfax-Ukraine that the association discussed the possibility of limiting corn exports before making a final decision and agreed that there was no urgent need for it, but if such a limitation is introduced, then it should be set at the level of 24 million tonnes, but not 22 million tonnes as suggested by its initiators.
