Qiwi has limited the withdrawal of funds by decision of the Bank of Russia

The withdrawal of funds to bank accounts from Qiwi Bank has been temporarily limited to a maximum of 1 thousand rubles per month.

During an audit, the Bank of Russia identified "deficiencies" in the payment service.

QIWI has previously implemented limits at the behest of the Central Bank.

Nearly 15 million virtual wallets are managed by Qiwi.

Due to an order from the Central Bank, the Qiwi payment service has announced in a statement that it has temporarily restricted the withdrawal of funds by individuals from electronic wallets to bank accounts and cash withdrawals. This was reported by Interfax.

A monthly limit of one thousand rubles has been set for withdrawing funds to cards and accounts of other banks. Additionally, funds from a Qiwi wallet cannot be withdrawn through the fast payment system or cashed out.

Except for loans from microfinance organizations, it will be impossible to repay a loan from any bank.

Users can still transfer to other electronic wallets (including Qiwi wallets), top up their mobile account, pay for housing and utilities, and pay in stores with a card.

Legal entities will still receive services from the payment system, despite the restrictions that have been put in place.

A restrictive order was issued by the Bank of Russia to the bank due to the deficiencies found during the audit of their adherence to reporting and documentation requirements.

Qiwi Bank and the Qiwi Group have expressed their hope to "rapidly address the identified issues and lift any temporary restrictions" in order to ensure their continued profitability and financial stability.

In December 2020, the Central Bank took action to restrict the operations of the Qiwi payment service in order to combat transfers to illegal online casinos and other entities in the gray payment market.

In early July, the Expert RA rating agency identified a high level of potential regulatory and operational risks due to the unique characteristics of the Qiwi business model and transactions with clients that have not been fully identified.

As of August 2019, Qiwi had 14.9 million virtual wallets and over 96,000 terminals and payment acceptance points, making it one of the largest payment services in Russia.