Central Bank of Russia ready to discuss increasing planned limit on number of cards in one bank from 5 to 10
YEKATERINBURG. Feb 18 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia is ready to discuss softening the norm planned for introduction which limits the number of cards from one bank for a specific user, by raising the bar twofold, CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina said.
"We hear two types of questions. The first is why limit it at all? It is important for a person to be in several banks; they want to be in different banks, have many different types of cards everywhere, plus linked cards of relatives, so there are many. On the other hand, we hear that even ten is a lot, 20 is a lot. So we proposed - this was our proposal - a total limit of 20 cards and five in a specific bank. We are now ready, under the influence of the ongoing discussion - and this bill is being prepared for adoption in the State Duma - to consider an option where the limit in one bank would be around ten, because it is important that law-abiding citizens do not fall under this restriction," Nabiullina said at the plenary session of the Cybersecurity in Finance forum.
It is important to maintain a balance between the effectiveness of anti-fraud measures and protecting law-abiding citizens from possible loss of convenience in services, Nabiullina said.
"We will probably return to the discussion again, but here we must show some flexibility and see how we can still ensure the rights of law-abiding people. A total limit of 20 cards, in my opinion, will seriously reduce the ability to open hundreds or thousands of cards for one dropper. That is, it will still lead to an increase in the cost of these drop-kits," she said.
The head of VTB, Andrei Kostin, criticized the total limit of 20 cards per person, which is stipulated in the bill currently under consideration, as excessive.
"Tell me, who came up with 20 cards per person? There are honest people sitting here, raise your hands - who has more than 20 cards? No one does. Why so many, they won't even fit in a wallet. Why 20? I understand that the law is already in progress, it probably cannot be changed now. But who came up with this, why so many?" he said.
Nabiullina noted that some banks believe that 20 cards per person is too few. "Well, it's precisely by droppers that they are used. This is a strange thing," Kostin said. "Based on how the audience reacted, you are probably right in some respects," Nabiullina said.
