NBU Continues to Ease FX Restrictions

Starting from 14 January, the National Bank of Ukraine will ease a number of FX restrictions and clarify specifics of currency regulation to support the operation of Ukrainian businesses.

First, the opportunities for companies will be expanded as part of the stimulating FX liberalization

The NBU is introducing a new stimulating loan limit to increase the flexibility of Ukrainian enterprises in managing funds attracted from abroad. The key objective of these changes is to create a regulatory framework to facilitate the restructuring of “old” external loans by domestic companies, which is important for attracting new resources into Ukraine’s economy.

The amount of the loan limit will be equal to the volume of funds received under a loan from abroad in foreign currency and credited to a company’s account with a Ukrainian bank after 1 January 2026.

Within the loan limit, businesses will be able to conduct transactions provided for by the stimulating FX liberalization, including:

• repayment of “old” loans (received before 20 June 2023) and payment of interest thereon
• settlements for the import of goods that were delivered on and before 23 February 2021
• refunds to a non-resident buyer of advance payments for goods that were prepaid before 23 February 2022
• financing of own foreign standalone units (above the established limit)
• repatriation of dividends (above the established limit).

The loan limit includes the following specifics: 

• if the principal amount of the loan is repaid, the maximum amount under the loan limit shall be reduced equivalently 
• after transactions are executed within the loan limit, transfers of funds from Ukraine to repay the principal amount of the attracted loan shall be limited to the outstanding loan balance reduced by the amount of transactions carried out within the limit
• FX transactions within the loan limit shall be conducted through the bank where the company received the loan.

Other parameters of such loans shall comply with the general conditions for “new” borrowings from abroad established by NBU Board Resolution No. 18 dated 24 February 2022 (as amended). In particular:

• the maximum interest rate on the loan shall be 12% per annum
• early repayment of the loan is prohibited
• a resident borrower is allowed to pay interest on such loans (including out of purchased FX)
• repayment of the principal amount of the loan (within the remaining amount of the loan limit) is allowed using the borrower’s own foreign currency, and, from the second year of using the loan, also using purchased foreign currency.

Second, domestic sellers and manufacturers of goods will be able to transfer foreign currency to individuals’ accounts with foreign banks to refund returned or undelivered goods

The conditions for conducting such transactions are as follows:

• funds shall be returned to the account of the consumer (individual) from which payment for the goods was originally made
• the amount of the refund in the currency of payment shall not exceed the value of the goods at the time of purchase
• the seller/manufacturer shall return funds for the goods in accordance with the procedure and within the time limits established by the Law of Ukraine On Consumers Rights Protection.

These changes will ensure equal conditions for consumers (individuals) who purchased goods in the territory of Ukraine, which will stimulate demand for products of Ukrainian manufacturers. At the same time, the changes will not create additional demand for foreign currency, as such demand will be offset by the sale of foreign currency that was transferred to Ukraine at the time of purchasing goods.

Third, the specifics of regulating FX transactions will be clarified.

In order to implement Ordinance of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1209 dated 5 November 2025, the NBU has introduced several measures in the area of currency supervision over settlement deadlines for export. Specifically, the NBU has:

• provided that the requirements regarding settlements deadlines will not apply to goods that are exported under a foreign economic agreement where the right of claim has been transferred to Export Credit Agency PrJSC (ECA) for the amount of insurance claim payments made by this company to the exporter of goods. This measure will promote the expansion of exports of goods, works, and services of Ukrainian origin, which is the main objective of the establishment and operation of the ECA
• removed the export of insurance services from the list of transactions subject to the requirement to comply with settlement deadlines. In this way, the NBU has unified currency regulation of insurance transactions with regulation of other financial services to which settlements deadlines do not apply.

The easing of FX restrictions was approved by NBU Board Resolution No. 2 On Amendments to NBU Board Resolution No. 18 dated 24 February 2022, while the currency regulation was clarified by NBU Board Resolution No. 3 On Amendments to NBU Board Resolution No. 67 dated 14 May 2019.

Both resolutions were approved on 13 January 2026 and entered into force on 14 January 2026.