This is the first time the NBU has published statistics on the volume of transactions made with payment instruments such as credit transfers and direct debits. The gathering of such data was officially introduced last year.
Using these instruments, businesses and households make both domestic and cross-border (into and out of Ukraine) transfers, including for settlements in international trade (exports/imports of goods and services).
The introduction of such reporting is in line with the approaches taken by the ECB and the world’s other leading central banks. This effort makes it possible to implement in Ukraine the EU’s cutting-edge methods for estimating the volume of payment transactions [both card-based ones and those initiated directly from user accounts with no cards involved (i.e. credit transfers and direct debits)].
Statistical data on credit and debit transfers in H1 2024
All of Ukraine’s 62 banks and one nonbank financial institution are servicing payment transactions initiated using credit transfers and direct debits by households and businesses.
Specifically, in H1 2024, they made 0.8 million direct-debit-based payment transactions worth a total of UAH 21.23 billion.
Payment transactions with the use of credit transfers were more common. Here is a breakdown of such transactions by number and volume, based on H1 2024 data:
- within Ukraine – 1,848 million transactions, totaling almost UAH 20,166 billion
- to Ukraine – 2.52 million, worth the equivalent of USD 33.89 billion in total
- from Ukraine – 0.56 million, the equivalent of USD 35.09 billion in total.
In particular, the largest number of within-Ukraine credit-transfer-based payment transactions in H1 2024 originated from the accounts of individuals. They made 1,603.7 million of these transactions, 86.78% of their total number. By volume, however, the majority of within-Ukraine credit-transfer-based payments were made from the accounts of businesses: UAH 18,063.20 billion, or 89.57% of the total amount.
During this period, 55.41% of the total number of credit-transfer-based payments were sent from abroad to individuals in Ukraine. In terms of the volume of Ukraine-bound payments, businesses also led the way: 94.16% of the total amount of credit-transfer-based payments were made to businesses (under foreign economic agreements). The largest amount of funds came to Ukraine from EU countries (44.95%), Switzerland (21.22%), and the United States (11.79%).
The largest volume of credit-transfer-based payments from Ukraine to other countries was generated by businesses (under foreign economic agreements): 0.52 million transactions totaling the equivalent of USD 35.02 billion. This represents 93.67% and 99.8% of the total number and volume of such payments, respectively. By region, the most funds went to EU countries (60.51%), Switzerland (10.33%), and China (5.06%).
The Law of Ukraine On Payment Services took effect on 1 August 2022. It defines the use of the following types of payment instruments:
- Сredit transfer is used to execute the payer’s request to make a funds transfer from their account (credit transfer) within a bank or a nonbank financial institution or between banks or nonbank financial institutions
- Direct debit is used to execute the debiting of funds from the payer’s account at the request of the funds’ recipient (debit transfer) within a bank or nonbank financial institution or between banks or nonbank financial institutions
- Electronic means of payment (primarily regular payment cards).