Two-Day Pause on Suspected Transfers: What It Means for Banks and Customers
The Central Bank has proposed a bill that would pause transfers for two days whenever a transaction is flagged in the regulator’s suspicious activity database before a transfer is completed. In an interview with Izvestia, German Zubarev, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, explained that the bill is expected to reach its first reading soon after completing interdepartmental checks. The goal is to give both clients and financial institutions a window to review transfers that could be manipulated by fraudsters, reducing the risk of irreversible movements of funds.
As described by Zubarev, FinCERT, the Central Bank’s cyber risk monitoring unit, maintains a database of flagged cases. The system records details of transactions, including the identities of fund senders and recipients. The plan is for the organizer to share relevant information from this database with the sending bank and the receiving bank. Credit institutions would then integrate these insights into their anti-fraud and risk-management systems to strengthen the detection and prevention of unauthorized fund movements. This approach supports ongoing efforts to improve detection and oversight of suspicious activity across the payments ecosystem [Cited: Central Bank].
The Deputy Governor emphasized that the two-day pause serves a protective purpose for bank customers who may not immediately realize that they have fallen victim to a scam. The delay would create a calm period during which the account holder or a trusted acquaintance can reassess the situation and spot potential red flags, thereby lowering the chances of a hasty, irreversible loss. In practical terms, legitimate transfers could be paused briefly if they appear inconsistent with a customer’s typical behavior, offering time for verification and intervention [Cited: Central Bank].
Historically, the idea of a temporary safety interval has gained traction since it first surfaced in May 2022. Policymakers have argued that a brief delay would not infringe on the rights of responsible customers or breach existing law, given that current regulations already allow transfers to be processed within a maximum of three working days. Proponents say such a pause would not hinder legitimate activity but would empower individuals to reflect on their actions and, if needed, report suspicious events. This approach seeks to balance rapid payment processing with stronger safeguards against fraud, aligning regulatory expectations with real-world customer protections and financial stability goals [Cited: Central Bank].
As the regulatory process moves forward, financial institutions, payment service providers, and consumer advocates will watch closely how the bill handles practical implementation challenges. The discussion highlights the tension between keeping payments efficient and strengthening defenses against increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. The ultimate aim is a more resilient payment environment where customers have clearer opportunities to detect and stop fraudulent transfers before funds leave their accounts, while preserving access to timely financial services for legitimate users [Cited: Central Bank].