PRESS RELEASE : Standing with Ukraine – Commission welcomes Joint Statement to provide affordable, accessible and transparent remittance services to Ukraine [September 2022]

The press release issued by the European Commission on 27 September 2022.

d a Joint Statement by EU and Ukrainian financial institutions to provide access to affordable, accessible and transparent remittance services to Ukraine.

Today, remittances from Ukrainians in the EU are a vital way of providing means of subsistence to their families and relatives at home. In the face of the growing humanitarian crisis triggered by Russian‘s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, lowering the costs of remittances could result in big savings for Ukrainians and their families. It could also help to scale up aid to the people of Ukraine.

With today‘s Joint Statement, signatories commit to:

• Affordable remittances: voluntarily lowering total fees and converging towards the 3% target in the Sustainable Development Goals and G20 Roadmap on cross border payments;
• Transparent remittances: disclosing total fees, including transfer fees and foreign exchange margin;
• Accessible remittances: seeking to maintain the accessibility of remittance services through a network of agents and the development of digital services.

Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, said: “Since Russian‘s illegal invasion, the European Union has been and remains steadfast in its support of Ukraine and its people. As the war continues, so too does our support for Ukraine. The people of Ukraine are suffering the horrible consequences of war.  As President von der Leyen said in her State of the Union address, Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine will remain unshakeable. Finding practical solutions to help Ukrainians living abroad, many forced to flee as a consequence of the war, to send remittances to their loved ones at home is a very concrete example of our solidarity. I welcome that EU and Ukrainian companies active in remittances have come together to achieve this objective. We are open to, and in fact would welcome, more providers joining the statement for affordable, accessible and transparent remittance services to Ukraine.”

Today‘s Joint Statement follows a roundtable meeting facilitated by the Commission and the National Bank of Ukraine with EU and Ukrainian remittance service providers, with participation of the World Bank. This initiative follows previous efforts to support Ukrainian refugees, amongst which a coordinated approach on the conversion of hryvnia banknotes by people fleeing Ukraine.

All roundtable participants have agreed to the Joint Statement. This initiative remains open: other financial sector institutions active in the provision of remittance services in the EU and Ukraine are encouraged to join the initiative and endorse the Statement.

Background

The Joint Statement applies for 9 months as of today. It will then be reviewed to take into account the fast-changing situation.