The national processing center on money transfers without opening a bank account has been established in Tajikistan. This center has been worked out and introduced into operation by the National bank of Tajikistan.
A presentation for the center was given in Dushanbe on October 1. Speaking at the center-presentation ceremony, Jamoliddin Nouraliyev, the first deputy head of the National Bank of Tajikistan, said that the system of money transfer without opening a bank account has developed significantly in the country in recent years and its share and significance in financial intermediation have significantly increased.
According to him, based on many years of experience and analysis of the latest developments related to insolvency of a number of foreign payment systems that have negatively impacted the country’s banking sector and as a result of population’s trust in the banking system, the NBT has identified the reasons hindering stability and smooth operation of the country’s banking system:
– lack of the single processing center on money transfer without opening a bank account, which promotes protection of interests and meets requirements of consumers of money transfer services;
– lack of the single exchange on money transfers that promote artificial manipulations in the money transfer market; lack of opportunity for citizens to receive money transfer in any lending agencies of the country;
– Tajikistan’s lending agencies working with various payment systems are forced to open correspondent accounts for work with each of payment systems that lead to additional financial expenses and risks;
– lending agencies pay remittances from their own resources that leads to the risk of non-payment of the paid remittances, which, in turn, can lead to destabilization of the country’s financial market.
Meanwhile, some experts consider that by establishing this center the Tajik authorities intend to monopolize the money transfer system and to keep the banking system solvent.
Russian business daily Kommersant reported in August that Russian-based cash-wiring services, such as Contact, Zolotoya Korona, Migom and Unistream as well as Western Union, which are the most commonly used wire companies in Tajikistan, will from September only be able to effect transactions equivalent to what they have on accounts placed with the National Bank of Tajikistan.
Kommersant describes this new arrangement as a de facto ban on the direct access of the global money transfer system to the Tajik market.
A representative for the National Bank of Tajikistan reportedly described the initiative to Kommersant as an attempt to “reduce operational risks” and to “support the stability of Tajikistan’s banking system.”
According to Eurasianet, speaking to RFE/RL, Maria Mikhailova, executive director of the National Association of Payment Services in Russia, said that the proposed system will generate a new source of income for the National Bank of Tajikistan, which will be in a position to charge its own commission on transfers. Money transfer companies will also be unable to provide cast-iron pledges that the money gets to its intended recipient since it will no longer be in charge of the whole chain of operations.
