The Banking Sector Announces Closure of Some Tariff Plans, Annoys Cessation of Reissuing Part of Cards, Reports Upcoming Intervals in Service Operation, Changes Payment Limits on Whitebird Platform

Changes

MTBank has announced the closure of its PayOkay tariff plan. Starting from September 15, applications for issuing new PayOkay payment cards will cease, as clarified by the bank.

Starting from October 22, applications for reissuing PayOkay payment cards will also be discontinued. All cards issued before October 22 will continue to operate under the tariffs and conditions applicable at the time of issuance.

Additionally, the bank informed that starting from October 26, obtaining cash at ATMs or at cash dispensing points using virtual cards with the payment service will require receiving a PIN code through sending it from MTbank Moby.

When changing the PIN code either through the database system or through the bank (contact center or branch), the PIN will be changed to a randomly generated one. The bank may notify the cardholder or client about blocking the card at its initiative via non-voting communication channels.

Priorbank has introduced a service for POS terminals called "PriorChaevye." Using this service, clients can leave tips along with order payment, and an employee can immediately receive them on their Priorbank card without commission.

During calculation of the guest, the waiter must enter both the tip amount and the main order sum at the POS terminal, and the client should make a payment using a card or contactless payment services.

BelgaZprombank reported that due to technical work carried out on September 16, there may be disruptions in the operation of the remote banking service "Internet-bank 'Business'" and the mobile application BGPB Business from 17:30 to 18:30.

Sberbank announced that LLC "Mobile TeleSystems" will conduct planned nightly operations on September 18 from 00:00 to 08:35. During these operations, delays may occur when receiving SMS messages for customers who use MT System operator services.

Alfa-Bank reported that starting from September 22, changes to limits for operations using cards come into effect. Specifically, non-cash transactions on the Whitebird platform are not conducted using Visa and Mastercard cards issued to residents of European Union countries.

Belarusbank announced that from 23:00 on September 19 to 07:00 on September 20, operations on individuals' deposit and current accounts, accounts for recording credit debt (loan repayment), and actions related to issuing payment cards will be unavailable in the bank's divisions, ERiP, and remote service channels. Operations with payment cards will be unrestricted.

The National Bank continued to increase the size of its assets in the form of government securities as of September 1. As of the reporting date, such assets in the NBRB's vault reached 11.837 billion BYN. This is a multi‑month high for the entire available observation period.

The buildup of government sector obligations began in April 2022. At that time, the securities on the regulator's balance sheet were valued at 197.5 million BYN.

Securities are most often government bonds. In previous periods, they were issued against the backdrop of debt repackaging in the public sector.

The National Bank and the Ministry of Finance in the Republic of Belarus are parts of a single government management system. Thus, essentially, the country is managing debt owed to itself.