Card-to-card transfer limits in Ukraine: when a bank can block your card and how to avoid it

Is there a limit on card-to-card transfers now

There is no general limit set by the state. From October 2024, an NBU restriction applied: no more than UAH 150,000 a month in transfers from all of a client's accounts at one bank to other individuals' accounts. The National Bank did not extend it after 1 April 2025.

Instead of one limit for everyone, a risk-based approach took over. Banks signed a memorandum on payment market transparency: they set their own limits for clients without confirmed income, covering transfers both by card number and by IBAN. According to the NBU, these restrictions do not apply to clients with confirmed income, including those who receive their salary on a card at that bank, or to volunteers the bank has identified.

So the answer to «how much can I transfer» depends on your bank and on whether it can see where your money comes from. You can find the exact limit for your account in your bank's app or through its support.

Why banks check transfers

A «drop», or money mule, is a person whose card or account is used to move other people's money: illegal casino winnings, money stolen by fraudsters, payment for illegal goods. Mules are often recruited through ads offering «easy money» for opening a card. According to the NBU, after the restrictions were introduced, the abnormal growth in transfers between individuals in 2024 slowed and the surge in new card openings stopped.

A bank is required to monitor client transactions and respond to suspicious ones. If fraudulent money passes through your card, you will be in trouble, not just the people behind the scheme. So transfer checks protect honest clients too, even though ordinary transactions sometimes get caught.

What can alert a bank

In July 2026, the NBU published a draft resolution with 16 signs of atypical client behaviour. As of the end of October 2026 it has not yet been adopted, but banks have long used similar criteria in their monitoring. Here are the main ones in plain words.

• «Many to one» or «one to many». You receive money from dozens of different people or send it to dozens of recipients, and this differs noticeably from your usual activity.
• Abnormal frequency. The draft gives the example of more than 10 separate top-ups in under an hour.
• Transit. Money comes in and goes out almost immediately, leaving a minimal balance.
• Hidden business. Many similar incoming payments that look like payment for goods or services on a personal card.
• Unnecessary accounts and cards opened without a clear need.
• Frequent changes of phone, device or IP address, or one device used by several unrelated clients.
• Geographic impossibility: transactions from distant places within a time in which travel is physically impossible.
• Gambling: winnings with no prior top-ups of the gaming account.

One sign on its own does not mean a block. Under the draft, the bank rates each transaction as low, medium or high risk: it executes low-risk ones automatically, may stop medium-risk ones and ask for confirmation, and stops high-risk ones until the circumstances are clarified.

Everyday situations: is there a risk

Regular payments from clients to a personal card are the most common reason for questions from a bank. If you earn from services or sales on a regular basis, a sole proprietor account solves the problem, and the tax under the simplified system is often lower than it seems: you can work it out in the single tax calculator, and how to choose a group is explained in our article on sole proprietor taxes.

What to do if the bank stops a transfer or restricts your card

1. Do not panic and do not open a new card at another bank to «get around» the restriction: it will only add to the suspicion.
2. Contact the bank only through the official app or the number on your card. Fraudsters exploit the topic and call on behalf of the bank's «financial monitoring»: how to recognise such a call is explained in our article on fake bank security calls.
3. Find out exactly what the bank needs and explain your transactions in writing, briefly and factually.
4. Provide documents that show where the money came from or what the transfer was for: a certificate of income, a tax return, a sale contract, proof of volunteer work, screenshots of listings and messages with buyers.
5. If you disagree with the bank's decision, file a written complaint with the bank, and if the answer does not satisfy you, contact the National Bank, which handles complaints from consumers of financial services.

How to stay clear of restrictions

• Confirm your income with your bank. A salary paid to a card at that bank already counts as confirmed income. If you are paid at another bank, many banks let you upload a certificate of income or a tax return in the app.
• Keep business and personal money apart: take regular payments from clients to a sole proprietor account, not a personal card.
• For fundraising, register as a volunteer or use a separate fundraising tool.
• Write a payment purpose, especially for large amounts.
• Never hand anyone your card, login details or app access, not even friends and not «just for a week».

In short

• There has been no general NBU limit on card-to-card transfers since 1 April 2025.
• Banks set their own limits for clients without confirmed income. They do not apply to clients paid a salary at that bank or to volunteers the bank has identified.
• Banks are alerted by «many to one» transfers, money in transit, hidden business on a personal card and frequent device changes.
• If a transfer is stopped, contact the bank only through the official app and provide documents on where the money came from.
• Take regular income from clients to a sole proprietor account and never hand over your card: there is now criminal liability for it.

This article is for information only. Each bank sets its own limits and checking rules, so confirm your bank's terms in your contract or with support through the official app.