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The central bank says its move will ensure uninterrupted provision of financial services to all citizens.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has asked the Cabinet of Ministers to allow all non-bank financial institutions to provide their services amid the quarantine set by the government as part of measures to combat the coronavirus spread across the country.
"Today, services related to currency exchange, remittances, and non-bank lending, as well as other non-bank financial institutions' services are in high demand with the population. Therefore, the National Bank proposes that the government amend Resolution No. 211 dated March 11 to authorize provision of services by all financial institutions amid restrictive measures," the regulator said on its website on March 20.
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The NBU mentioned that the government on March 17 halted operations of enterprises whose activities involve accepting clients. However, the restriction does not apply to banks and insurance companies. Meanwhile, the ban was introduced with regard to other non-bank financial institutions; that is, currency exchange offices, financial companies, credit unions, pawnshops, etc.
The central bank says its move will ensure the uninterrupted provision of financial services to all citizens.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the National Bank proposed that payments of salaries, pensions, subsidies, etc. be transferred to cashless form for the period of quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19.