Georgian Banks Cease Money Transfers Through Unistream
On July 26, Georgian banks CartuBank and Terabank and the Georgian branch of Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank stopped transferring money through the Russian payment system Unistream, according to the Russian government-owned newswire, TASS.
On July 21, all major Georgian banks – TBC Bank, Liberty Bank, Bank of Georgia, Credo Bank, and Basisbank – stopped using the Unistream system. In addition, the microfinance organization Rico Credit, which has numerous branches in Georgia and is popular among foreigners for receiving remittances, reported that it had stopped using the payment system.
German ProCredit Bank, Azerbaijan’s Pasha Bank, and Turkey’s Isbank operating in Georgia said they had not previously conducted transactions through the Unistream system.
The decisions follow the announcement of the U.S. sanctions on July 20, aimed at limiting Moscow’s access to the global financial system. Alongside Unistream, Tinkoff Bank, Locko-Bank, Petersburg Social Commercial Bank (PSCB), and Solidarnost were also sanctioned.
Russian media reported that Unistream was one of the most popular money transfer systems Russian citizens use. Through Unistream, 1.775 billion dollars were transferred to Georgia in past 1.5 years. In the first half of 2023, nearly a third of the transfers (32%) came through Unistream.
Despite the sanctions imposed on Unistream, there are still alternative ways to transfer money from Russia, such as the Zolotaia Korona and Contact systems.
Also Read:
- 25/02/2022 – VTB Bank Georgia Hit with Int’l Sanctions
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
