Head to the stop: card blocking may increase by 25% due to new Central Bank measures

The number of account blockages may increase by 25% after the Central Bank adds transfers by citizens to their SBP accounts to the list of suspicious transactions, according to Izvestia's consensus forecast. The measure will affect large transfers — from 200 thousand rubles. This scheme is often used by scammers — they convince victims to transfer funds "to themselves" to another bank. Now, if on the day of such a transfer there is another transfer to a person with whom there have been no operations for more than six months, the transaction may be blocked. Despite the possible inconveniences, in practice, the measure can reduce the number of successful embezzlement by 10-20%, experts say. How to protect yourself from blockages is in the Izvestia article.

Why will they impose restrictions on transfers to themselves?

Banks will begin to consider suspicious transfers to themselves using the Fast Payment System (SBP), and the number of card blockages may increase by 25%, according to Izvestia's consensus forecast. Credit institutions will take such transactions into account if on the same day the client tries to send money to another person to whom he has not made any transfers for six months.

But banks will check for signs of fraud only for large transfers to another person on SBP — from 200 thousand rubles, the press service of the Central Bank explained to Izvestia. It is important that suspicion arises only if the client has previously made a transfer to himself through the system. In other words, it will not be this transaction that will be verified, but the next one — to another individual's account.

— It is now common for attackers to convince a person to transfer savings from their accounts in other banks to their savings account. It is easier for fraudsters to steal money when they are in the same account, especially if the attackers have gained access to it. Therefore, we plan to include large transfers to oneself via the SBP in the updated list of fraudulent signs," said Vadim Uvarov, Director of the Information Security Department of the Bank of Russia.

At the moment, the list of fraudulent signs includes six criteria. Banks are required to suspend transfers if money goes to an account previously linked to fraud or to a recipient against whom a criminal case has been initiated. Information from telecom operators is also taken into account, for example, unusual telephone activity of the client or a sharp increase in the number of incoming SMS and messages before the transfer. In addition, transfers to accounts entered into the Central Bank's database as fraudulent are prohibited, as well as when transactions that are atypical for the client are identified in terms of amount, frequency, time or place. Another criterion is the use of a device previously used by intruders and listed in the regulator's database.

How much will the number of account locks increase in 2026

The Central Bank will publish an order with new signs of fraudulent transfers in the near future, Vadim Uvarov said.

This means that by the end of 2025, the number of suspensions of transfers under the SBP may increase by 5-10%, said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. At the same time, in 2026, cards will be frozen one and a half times more often, said Yaroslav Kabakov, Director of Strategy at Finam IC.

Since the beginning of 2025, according to estimates based on available data, approximately 300-600 thousand card accounts have been blocked or severely restricted as part of anti-fraud measures, Freedom Finance Global reported. This range is associated with an increase in the number of suspicious accounts of intruders: according to the regulator, in 2025 there were half a million more of them. This indicates the continuation of massive temporary suspensions and total card blockages.

In 2024, 201.7 thousand fraudulent SBP transactions worth 8.2 billion rubles were recorded, which follows from the official data of the Central Bank. In the first nine months of 2025, the number of such operations may reach 110-180 thousand cases, Vladimir Chernov believes. At the same time, since the beginning of the year, the loss from fraudulent transfers has already been estimated at about 6-7 billion rubles, so the regulator's concerns can be understood, said Taras Petiy, founder of the Stepanov group law firm.

Meanwhile, in the second quarter of 2025, transfers between individuals through St. Petersburg updated the historical maximum, from April to June there were 3.2 billion transactions worth 22.2 trillion rubles, said Lyudmila Bogatyreva, head of the Polylog Agency's IT department. During the year, the number of transactions increased by 41.2%, and the volume of funds transferred increased by 65.1%, she concluded.

Izvestia also asked the SBP operator of the National Payment Card System (NSPK) how often Russians make large transfers using the system.

How to prevent the account from being blocked after the transfer via the SBP

The measure proposed by the regulator is quite targeted, Vladimir Chernov noted. It works according to the specified scheme, when the victim is persuaded to focus money on one account and then withdraw it. The analyst expects a 10-20% reduction in successful embezzlement in the SBP scenarios over six months. In the first months after implementation, the restriction can reduce the number of successful fraudulent cases by about 15%, added Dmitry Mikhailov from Cosmovisa.

"At the same time, people involved in fraudulent schemes will face problems much more often," said Georgy Nikonov, CEO of the Vepay payment service.

Nevertheless, the increased sensitivity of banks to transfers to themselves, of course, can affect customers, admitted Alexander Blezneko, head of the information security strategy development at the Telecom Exchange IT integrator. For example, you may need to additionally confirm transactions and respond to requests from the bank. Transfers may be delayed until the circumstances are clarified.

The key risks facing SMEs and the self—employed are where personal and corporate accounts intersect, predicted Alexey Postrigailo, Senior partner at Ensain IT integrator. If anti-fraud is set up too inflexibly, blockages can affect legal operations and create problems for businesses, he concluded.

To reduce the risk of blocking, it is important to refrain from transferring funds to third parties one day after transferring more than 200 thousand rubles to yourself from another account, warned Vladimir Chernov. It is this model that the new anti-fraud system will respond to most actively.

It is also recommended to split large transfers into several transactions on different days, advised Vladimir Chernov. Another useful measure is to notify the bank in advance about a planned major transaction through the application or support service, specifying the purpose and details of the transfer. These measures will also help to avoid the suspension of the operation.