Ukrainians continue to trust banks, despite the war, depositors of troubled banks during wartime can count on 100% reimbursement of their funds.

Svitlana Rekrut

, Managing Director of the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund, said this

in an interview within the framework of the "Breakfast with 1+1" project.

To the question of when depositors should wait for their money to be returned if the bank has failed, the head of the FGVFO replied:

"

20 working days is the maximum period that the Guarantee Fund takes to start payments

. You have two options - you can either walk to one of the agent banks, or you can not leave your home at all and make this withdrawal online service. We have four banks that accept funds online, and that's it.

You don't need any statements, you don't need any other actions - just a passport and a code, if at a bank branch, or to go through identification online, if it's an online payment.

"

According to her, the same rules apply to forced migrants:

"If this is a citizen of Ukraine, it does not matter where he is physically located. The online payment system was actually implemented for those people who are forced to temporarily stay either outside the territory of Ukraine or outside the regions where they lived, i.e. displaced persons. Almost 50% of the payments made by the Guarantee Fund since the start of the war have been made online."

Recruit reported that during the full-scale war, 5.6 billion UAH were returned to depositors of troubled banks, and almost half of these funds were paid online, without physical intervention of the client.

The head of FGVFO reminded that from April of this year, the deposit is guaranteed in the amount of 100%.

"It doesn't matter what amount you had in your bank account - whether it was 500 hryvnias or a million. Including accrued interest, all this will be returned to you at the expense of the Guarantee Fund," she emphasized.

Recruit assured that Ukrainians continue to trust domestic banks:

"The growth rate of deposits this year, after the start of a full-scale war, even exceeds some pre-war indicators.

People understand that it is at least physically safer to keep funds in the bank

. Secondly, the 100 percent guarantee that we are talking about now has shown itself in action. People now they are sure that no matter what happens, they will get their funds back. Thirdly, after the start of the war, online payments increased significantly. Because it is not always possible for people to go and buy something physically now. From the beginning of January to the end of October, the deposits of individuals increased almost by 18% and amount to almost UAH 970 billion. We can see that the banking system is currently stable, fully performs its functions and has also proven its reliability for people and business."

She also clarified that the

100% guarantee applies only to the wartime period and three months after the end of the war

.

After that, the guarantee amount will be UAH 600,000.

As a reminder, on April 1, the Verkhovna Rada as a whole voted in favor of a draft law on guaranteeing 100% deposits in all banks during the war.

This document was signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

Note that as of January 1, 2022, the total amount of deposits of individuals and individual entrepreneurs in participating banks of the Individual Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGVFO) amounted to UAH 675.6 billion.

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