TITLE: Russia's Central Bank Establishes Unified Payment Card Registry to Combat Fraud
BODY:
On July 30, 2026, Russia announced the creation of a unified system for tracking payment cards to combat dropper fraud—a scheme in which fraudsters use multiple payment cards to facilitate illegal money transfers. The Bank of Russia (Центральный банк Российской Федерации) will establish the procedures for forming and maintaining this registry under amendments to the Federal Law on National Payment Systems (Federal Law No. 161-FZ of June 27, 2011).
The National Payment Card System Operator (НСПК) will operate the registry. The system will contain data on payment card numbers and types used for money transfers, taxpayer identification numbers (ИНН) of individual clients provided by money transfer operators, and the quantity of payment cards issued to each client. Data protection requirements will be determined by a Central Bank regulatory act, developed in coordination with federal security authorities and the body responsible for countering technical intelligence and information security.
The registry will be accessible to the regulator and money transfer operators. Money transfer operators must submit information on active and inactive payment cards and client identification data. The system operator must ensure the registry's functionality, protect contained information, and establish information exchange formats with money transfer operators. Most provisions take effect September 1, 2026, with certain obligations for money transfer operators to provide specified information taking effect September 1, 2027. The amendments are contained in Federal Law No. 210-FZ of June 26, 2026, which modifies the Federal Law on Communications and related legislative acts.
REFERENCES:
Federal Law No. 210-FZ of June 26, 2026 "On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On Communications' and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation"
Federal Law No. 161-FZ of June 27, 2011 "On the National Payment System"