All financial service providers in Ukraine, including banks and postal operators, will be required to print customers' personal data on paper receipts for utility and other payments, according to Ihor Smilianskyi, head of the state postal operator Ukrposhta. He said the data would include the payer's full name, tax identification number and complete bank card number.
Smilianskyi said the requirements were approved under National Bank of Ukraine board resolutions No. 163 of 29 July 2022 and No. 103 of 25 September 2018, along with their latest amendments and related instructions. He said the new rules had already taken effect for Ukrposhta from 1 August.
Legal Basis and Effective Date
Smilianskyi said the requirement was not about electronic data exchange, which he said could at least be explained by the need to prevent tax evasion or money laundering. Instead, he said, the data must be printed directly on the paper receipt. He said that if a CVV code and card expiry date were added too, it would amount to declaring a "jackpot" for call centres.
He said the new National Bank rules were not required by Ukraine's international partners or the International Monetary Fund, and argued they instead ran counter to international practice.
International Comparison
Smilianskyi said that in the United States, the FACTA law and payment system rules strictly prohibit printing full card details, limiting receipts to a maximum of the last five digits. In the European Union, he said, tax identification numbers receive special protection under the General Data Protection Regulation and the principle of data minimisation, meaning printing them on public receipts breaches basic privacy standards. He added that France and Sweden had abandoned automatic printing of paper receipts altogether, issuing them only at a customer's request.
Regulatory Independence
Smilianskyi said the National Bank's regulatory acts are not subject to Cabinet of Ministers oversight. He said the country was returning to 50-centimetre receipts carrying full personal data, and explained that the National Bank had received an exclusive right years ago to issue regulatory acts without government or Justice Ministry review for compliance with European norms, even as Ukraine discusses accession to the European Union. He described this as a case of independence turning into impunity.
Smilianskyi said he categorically disagreed with the new requirements but that Ukrposhta would comply with them as required by law. He advised Ukrainians to dispose of their receipts at home if they had no further need for them, adding that Ukrposhta stores all payment information electronically in accordance with legislation.
Ongoing Conflict with NBU Governor
The dispute follows a broader conflict between Smilianskyi and National Bank governor Andriy Pyshnyi. On 23 June, the National Bank said Smilianskyi did not meet professional suitability requirements and demanded his dismissal within five working days. Smilianskyi responded that the regulator was deliberately obstructing Ukrposhta's work and said Pyshnyi would "pay for everything personally." After the National Bank's deadline passed, Smilianskyi said he would continue serving as head of Ukrposhta.
