The Central Bank of Russia reported that individuals can now voluntarily prohibit themselves from entering into loan or microloan agreements through the Public Services Portal, with the restriction recorded in their credit history as a measure to protect against loan fraud. The self-ban can be set by creditor type (bank or microfinance organisation) and by application channel (offline and online, or only online). A self-ban can be cancelled at any time via the portal, but the request must be signed with an enhanced digital signature (which can be created free of charge in the Goskey application) and the ban is lifted one day after the relevant information is entered into the individual’s credit history. Before granting consumer loans, banks and microfinance organisations must check the borrower’s credit history for an active self-ban and refuse to lend where one is in place; if a creditor concludes a loan agreement despite a ban, it cannot demand the borrower’s performance of the loan obligations. The mechanism is expected to expand to in-person channels later, with multifunctional centres required to start providing the self-ban service by 1 September 2025, including preparing systems and staff to accept applications on an uninterrupted basis.
Central Bank of Russia 2025-03-01
Central Bank of Russia introduces voluntary self-bans on loans and microloans via the Public Services Portal
The Central Bank of Russia introduced a measure enabling individuals to voluntarily ban themselves from loan or microloan agreements via the Public Services Portal, recorded in their credit history to prevent fraud. The self-ban can specify creditor type and application channel, and be cancelled with an enhanced digital signature. Banks and microfinance organisations must verify credit histories for active self-bans and are prohibited from lending if one is present.