According to this document, lenders are now obliged to issue money to borrowers with a delay: for amounts from 50 to 200 thousand rubles the funds will be available not earlier than four hours, and for amounts over 200 thousand - not earlier than two days.
As noted by the speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, this mechanism is aimed at reducing the risks arising from pressure from fraudsters. These attackers threaten borrowers and force them to take loans in order to then transfer the stolen money to other criminals. Such funds are often transferred to Ukraine, where they are then used to support the Ukrainian armed forces. This solution, according to Volodin, will help keep many people away from criminal activity.
“The cooling off period will allow people to realize the current situation and understand that they are under the threat of fraud, which will help them avoid the manipulations of fraudsters and protect their finances.
This is especially relevant, as every year fraudsters embezzle about 4.5 billion rubles, issued as loans to citizens, said in a comment for “RG” member of the Committee on Budget and Taxes Nikita Chaplin (“United Russia”). He explained that this situation creates a significant debt burden for the victims and negatively affects their financial condition. Chaplin believes that reflection time can play a key role in preventing the loss of funds and avoiding debt bondage.
This is a very important requirement, which for the first time appears in the legislation and will protect the rights of those citizens who will suffer from fraudsters and their bank or microfinance organization will not be able to protect them for some reason,” said the MP.
In what cases it is allowed not to return the loan.
According to the new amendments, financial institutions and microfinance organizations are obliged to implement anti-fraud measures, which includes anti-fraud measures. They will have to use a “cooling-off period” to check for potential fraud schemes.
If a bank or microfinance organization failed to protect a citizen from fraudsters, and a criminal case on the fact of embezzlement of funds was initiated on his application, he will not be obliged to return anything under such a contract, - Konstantin Bakharev (EP), the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Market, told in detail.
The amendment adopted in the second reading implies that if the lender has not shown due activity and issued funds without prior verification, the borrower will be released from debt obligations. This means that banks and microfinance organizations will lose the right to demand compliance with the terms of the contract from the affected client. The parliamentarian considers this innovation important, as it is designed to protect the rights of citizens who have become victims of fraudsters, in cases where financial institutions that issued the loan are unable to provide assistance.
Credit organizations are now obliged to request information on all loan applications from credit history bureaus and to record this data, explained Sergei Gavrilov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Property Relations. This will allow to identify cases when fraudsters receive loans in the name of other people.
According to Gavrilov, if it is found that the agreement was signed without the real consent of the borrower, the bank will not be able to demand the return of the debt. It is important to note that such protection works only if there is a criminal case on the fact of fraud.
Other innovations
Earlier, Volodin mentioned other changes considered in the second reading. Now citizens are required to provide their TIN when applying to credit institutions or microfinance organizations, which will allow better identification of borrowers. In addition, to improve the protection of citizens from fraud, the timeframe for the introduction of a number of regulations has been reduced to 90 days instead of 180 days.
Sergei Gavrilov also reported on other innovations. One of them concerns the prevention of illegal use of digital payment cards. According to the new rules, it is not allowed to deposit more than 50 thousand rubles to an account through an ATM within 48 hours after the issuance of a new tokenized card, which stores encrypted payment data and is linked to mobile devices. This is done to complicate the actions of fraudsters seeking to cash in stolen or fronted loans.
In addition, the law introduces specific restrictions for microfinance organizations. From now on, loan funds will be transferred exclusively to the borrower's account and not to the details of third parties. This will eliminate situations where fraudsters ask the victim to take out a loan and transfer funds ostensibly “for verification” or to a “safe account”. Moreover, microfinance organizations are now obliged to maintain an internal policy to prevent such cases and transmit data on suspicious applications to the Bank of Russia.
Also within the framework of the innovations, a unified database on attempts of unauthorized transfers has been created. The Bank of Russia will be authorized to collect information on suspicious transactions and exchange it with credit institutions. If a client tries to transfer funds to an account that has already been involved in such cases, the bank will be able to reject the operation, Gavrilov emphasized.
According to the chairman of the committee, this law fundamentally changes the consumer lending market.
Customers will receive additional defense mechanisms against fraudsters, and banks and MFOs - new responsibilities for checking applications and tracking suspicious schemes. Now taking a loan or depositing a large sum on a new digital wallet has become not only more difficult, but also safer for conscientious clients,” summarized Gavrilov.