Some financial institutions in Tajikistan, namely Spitamen Bank, Bank Arvand, the First MicroFinanceBank of Tajikistan and Microcredit Deposit Organization (MDO) Humo, have suspended foreign currency transfer transactions through the international money transfer company Unistream.
This is about transfers in these currencies from Tajikistan, while money transfers to banks in Tajikistan accepted in any currency.
Meanwhile, remittances in the Russian rubles are sent through this international money transfer system without any restrictions.
Asia-Plus’s appeals in this regard to other banks in the country have so far remained unanswered.
The National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) says recommendations or instructions on this issue were not given to the country’s financial institutions.
According to Tajikistan’s national regulator, Unistream’s license on operating in Tajikistan is valid until February 27, 2027.
The national financial regulator further noted that decision on transfers in certain currencies is made by commercial banks on their own.
Unistream, sometimes written UNISTREAM Bank, is an international money transfer company and bank based in Russia.
The service was originally a department of Uniastrum Bank, but in 2006 became a separate company, with its own banking license. Unistream has operations at 335,000 locations in over 100 countries.
The Unistream system began functioning as a department of Uniastrum Bank in 2001. The system entered the market, offering tariffs from 1%.
Since 2016, Unistream has been cooperating with the money transfer network Moneyto Ltd, which acquired the rights to use the Unistream Money Transfer trademark in the European Union.
