Ukraine risks missing window to pass anti-money laundering laws for European payment access
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Time is running short for Ukraine to pass the anti-money laundering laws it needs to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), a network that makes euro transfers faster and cheaper, as lawmakers remain divided over who should have access to bank account information.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's Parliament, is set to consider Bill No. 14327-d in its first reading on Nov. 10, lawmaker Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk, one of the bill’s co-authors, told the Kyiv Independent.
Two related bills are also part of the package. No. 15501 would protect whistleblowers who report suspected money laundering from retaliation, and No. 15503 would give people and companies publicly accused of violating financial monitoring rules a formal right to respond.
SEPA links 41 countries and territories and treats euro transfers between them like domestic payments. Membership would let Ukrainians save money on transfers from Europe and make it easier for businesses to pay European suppliers and customers.
Vasylevska-Smahliuk estimates that Ukrainians and businesses together could save Hr 10 billion ($220 million) annually through lower bank fees and transaction costs.
"We may not be members of the European Union yet, but joining SEPA would make us part of the European payment area," Vasylevska-Smahliuk said. "It would be a form of partial European integration, something like 'financial visa-free travel' for Ukraine."
To qualify, Ukraine must first bring its anti-money laundering (AML) laws in line with European standards. The legislation would create a central register showing which banks hold a person's account or safe-deposit boxes, though not balances, transaction histories, or the contents of boxes.
Investigators could use the register to find a person's bank account without contacting each one separately, and ask courts to freeze assets if necessary.
The main dispute standing in the way of the legislation moving forward is over who gets access to the register. Vasylevska-Smahliuk said European Commission representatives want access extended to law enforcement agencies that investigate financial crimes, organized crime, and corruption.
As a compromise, lawmakers plan to give direct access at first to the Bureau of Economic Security, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP), and the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA). Access for other law enforcement bodies will be discussed before the bill's second reading, according to Vasylevska-Smahliuk.
The EU’s new anti-money laundering rules are due to take effect on July 10, 2027.
"If we fail to meet the current deadline, we could miss the opportunity to join SEPA under the existing rules," she said. "The requirements are about to become much stricter, and I don't think Ukraine will be able to implement all of them quickly."
If the bill passes its first reading on Nov. 10, parliament could consider it again in mid-December, she said, though that would require lawmakers to shorten the time for submitting amendments.
In the best-case scenario, the law would be passed by the end of the year, allowing the National Bank of Ukraine to submit the country’s SEPA application to the European Payments Council.
In neighboring Moldova, which connected to SEPA in October 2025, citizens and businesses saved around $14.7 million in the system's first ten months, according to the National Bank of Moldova.
