- VTB Bank set to offer new cash transfer service
- Recipient countries include Italy, Germany, Kazakhstan and many more
- New speed is “relevant for the current conditions of the self-isolation regime in almost all countries”, said a spokesperson
A major bank based in Russia has announced a new service to allow customers to make online money transfers across Europe.
VTB Bank will offer the service to those customers who use its VTB Online service.
The list of countries to which customers will be able to transfer the cash is long and includes all the countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) comprised of former Soviet states.
This list includes several key economic players in the region such as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
In addition, they will also be able to make transfers to some nations in the wider Europe region.
This list includes Estonia, Italy, Germany and more.
Also represented are France and the Czech Republic.
A key difference with the new system on offer is that it permits what is known as “card to card” transfers.
This means that the firm’s customers will no longer have to use SWIFT or a similar service and will in theory at least enhance the speed and efficiency of the transfer.
The transfers have been capped at $2,000, and the commission rate has been fixed at 1.5%.
In order to participate, customers will need to head to the mobile app or Internet banking portal offered by the firm.
Once there, they will need to navigate to “Worldwide transfers”.
They will then need to click on the field marked “From card to card”.
They can then fill out the recipient’s details, and also send information about the amount being transferred.
It is understood that the firm has acted to enhance the service given the demand for cash transfers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Nikita Chugunov, who serves as the head of digital and senior vice president at VTB, the move will help customers in the “current conditions of the self-isolation regime”.
“Previously, for VTB-Online, funds could only be transferred to foreign accounts using the 'SWIFT Transfer' service, and the amounts were credited within 3-5 days. Now we have added the ability to transfer money worldwide from card to card, with the money being credited to the other account instantly”, he said.
“This is especially important, given our client’s request for efficiency, and is particularly relevant for the current conditions of the self-isolation regime in almost all countries.”
He also indicated that there were plans to build on the service in the future.
“VTB plans to develop this service by increasing the number of countries and launching money transfer services worldwide, which will be even more convenient and less expensive for our customers”, he added.
Financial institutions everywhere are considering changing their cross border payments practices as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
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