At the FinRetail-2026 forum, Olga Vasylieva, Deputy Director of the Department of Payment Systems and Innovative Development of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), spoke about the development of open banking in Ukraine, the NBU reports.
“Today, access via API has already been provided to 97% of current accounts of individuals. So the question is no longer whether open banking will exist in Ukraine, but who will be the first to turn it into a convenient and in-demand product for the customer,” emphasised Olga Vasylieva, the NBU reports.
The basic stage of infrastructure preparation is complete: a regulatory framework has been approved, which includes 9 regulatory legal acts — 5 new and 4 revised, the NBU reports. Around 90% of institutions that service accounts — account-servicing payment service providers (ASPSP) — follow OpenAPI Group specifications, the NBU reports.
As of August 2026, access via API has been provided to 97% of individuals’ accounts and 71% of legal entities’ accounts, the NBU reports. By the end of the year it is planned to finally approve statistical reporting for market participants, the NBU reports.
The process has already moved out of theory — open banking works in practice and the first operations have already been completed, the NBU reports. The NBU has authorised 4 banks as payment initiation service providers (PISP) and account information service providers (AISP), the NBU reports, and a further three banks are awaiting consideration of their applications, the NBU reports.
Two technology operators have also been granted permission to provide services in open banking — UPC (Ukrainian Processing Centre) and TASLink — and one application is under review, the NBU reports.
The NBU has prepared amendments to the Law “On Payment Services” as part of adaptation to the European PSD2 directive, the NBU reports.
Acquiring will also undergo significant changes: the focus is shifting from classic cards to payment transactions in general, the NBU reports. Direct payment from an account via credit and instant transfers (account-to-account, A2A) is already operational, the NBU reports.
The main advantage of account-to-account (A2A) payments is the absence of an interchange fee, which significantly reduces the cost of accepting payments for businesses, the NBU reports. “This opens fundamentally new opportunities,” explains Olga Vasylieva. “For retail, it means a single framework for different payment methods and the ability to choose the most advantageous channel. And for fintech, it is a chance to build convenient payment services without being tied exclusively to card infrastructure,” said Olga Vasylieva.
Ukraine is introducing a mandatory requirement for verification of the payee (Verification of Payee): before the payer confirms the operation, the system will automatically match the account number with the recipient’s name, the NBU reports. This service will be free for citizens and will operate regardless of the channel of initiation, the NBU reports.
“What does all this mean for Ukraine? We have already created the basic infrastructure, the regulatory framework exists, and we continue to improve the legislation, but further progress depends on the market — merchants shape demand for new payment methods and can take advantage of the implementation of Pay by Bank in Ukraine. The time has come to move on to the creation of competitive products, and we, as the NBU, will continue to create regulatory conditions, and joint work by market participants will allow the created infrastructure to be transformed into solutions whose benefits will be felt by everyone — both businesses and consumers,” concluded Olga Vasylieva, the NBU reports.
