Russia to Ban Banks From Using Messengers Like Telegram to Contact Customers – According to new legislation enacted by the Russian Federation’s lower house of parliament, banks would be prohibited from contacting clients via a number of popular instant messaging platforms. The prohibition applies to platforms situated abroad. Roskomnadzor, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media, has not yet issued a list of the impacted applications, but Telegram, Whatsapp, Viber, and others fit the description, according to the business newspaper Kommersant.
The bill, passed by the State Duma in its third reading, also bans the use of this type of messaging service for correspondence containing sensitive information such as personal data or payment-related documents. The article explains that the limits apply not only to banks but also to all other financial institutions, including brokers, corporations operating in the securities market, management firms, investment funds, private pension funds, and depositories.
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According to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media, not the Central Bank of Russia, will monitor the ban. Commenting for Kommersant, he also stated: “Credit organizations, of course, are very careful about the implementation of the law, and are unlikely to violate it. Therefore, obviously, they will take steps to avoid falling under sanctions.”
Members of the industry told the newspaper that instant messengers are rarely used to communicate with clients, particularly by large companies that have established their own applications with integrated support conversations. Others use third-party solutions, typically secure platforms for connecting with clients, exchanging papers, closing agreements, uploading data, and reporting to the central bank, as investment advisor Tatyana Evdokimova stated. “We know what personal data protection is, and we have been complying with certain requirements for a long time,” she emphasized.
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