The regulator is considering the possibility of blocking bank payments to crypto exchangers using MCC codes
The Bank of Russia is considering blocking card transfers using MCC codes as one of the ways to completely ban investments in cryptocurrencies, Forbes reports, citing its own sources.
The bank assigns a four-digit MCC code to each organization to which the money transfer is made. This code is used to track the services that the organization provides. For example, grocery stores are usually assigned the code 5411, and cryptocurrency exchanges are usually assigned the code 6051.
Blocking card transfers by MCC codes is carried out with the participation of payment systems such as Visa and Mastercard. Representatives of these companies declined to respond to a request from Forbes.
In September, the Central Bank recommended that banks identify transfers to cryptocurrency exchangers and block them.
Last week, the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina said that the regulator opposes the use of the Russian financial infrastructure for transactions with cryptocurrency. Nabiullina noted that the regulator has tools to restrict the use of digital assets.
On December 20, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Duma Committee on the Financial Market, called for an end to the issue of cryptocurrency regulation. According to Aksakov, the authorities need to determine their position on digital assets and legislate it. The deputy also said that residents of Russia have already invested 5 trillion rubles in cryptocurrencies.
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