The National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) says the National Processing Center for Remittance Management will begin operating in the country tomorrow, December 3. Russian specialists consider that it will stop money flow into Tajikistan.
The National Processing Center for Remittance Management will start operating in Tajikistan beginning on December 3, according to the NBT press center.
It means that all cross-border remittances without opening a bank account will be repaid through this Center.
The NBT press center says the National Processing Center for Remittance Management aims to enhance transparency of transactions and minimize operational risks for the purpose of supporting the stability of the country’s banking system.
Tajik central bank says the establishment of the processing center provides new opportunities for development of the money transfer market in the country, increase in the public’s trust in the country’s banking system, improvement of quality of service to money transfer system users, and monitoring of transactions on cross-border remittances.
Meanwhile, Russian business daily Kommersant says participants of the money transfer market and the Central Bank of Russia last week tried to prevent stoppage of remittance sending between Russia and Tajikistan.
A meeting with participation of representatives of the NBT and Russian-based cash-wiring companies MoneyGram, Contact, Zolotaya Korona, and also Western Union took place at the Central Bank in Moscow on November 25 to discuss issues related to further operation of money transfer systems with opening of a banking account in Tajikistan due the fact that Tajikistan makes shift to a new system on December 3.
According to Kommersant, it was stated at the meeting that the mentioned cash-wiring companies account for more than 90 percent of all remittances sent from Russia to Tajikistan and none of them has been connected to the NBT new system so far.
The meeting participants reportedly asked the NBT to postpone the term of connection to the system for six months for their purpose of “clarifying technical and regulatory nuances.”
Moreover, the NBT on November 26 sent a letter to payment system operators noting that “the companies, which did not sign the relevant contracts and did not complete integration with the National Processing Center at the NBT agreements, must suspend their activities on sending remittances to Tajikistan,” according to Kommersant.
Meanwhile, Ms. Maria Mikhailova, executive director of the National Association of Payment Services in Russia, told Radio Liberty on August 19 that the proposed system will generate a new source of income for the Tajik National Bank, 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.
Some experts note that this is not the first time the National Bank has tried to make money off migrant laborers.
In 2016, a requirement was introduced for money being transferred in Russian rubles to be cashed out exclusively in the national currency, the somoni. The initiative was explained as an effort to protect the public through the guarantee of a favorable exchange rate.
