Roskomnadzor announced restrictions on the use of WhatsApp, WeChat and Microsoft Teams in banks

Roskomnadzor announced which foreign messengers “may be classified” as services, the use of which is subject to restrictions on use from March 1. We are talking about the amendments to the federal law “On Information” that came into force today: they prohibit banks from integrating payment services with such messengers, and structures performing “state tasks” from transmitting payment and personal information through them.

Among the messengers that can be classified as foreign, on site Roskomnadzor mentions Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber, corporate messengers from Microsoft – Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business, Discord, Snapchat, Threema and WeChat. According to the law “On Information”, Roskomnadzor develops a procedure for the formation and publication of a list of foreign messengers, and then compiles this list. Formally, the procedure has not yet been approved: the corresponding draft order of Roskomnadzor is still being discussed at regulation.gov.ru. According to the draft order, Roskomnadzor must publish not only the name of the messenger, but also a description of its functionality, country and address of registration of the owner.

In January, Roskomnadzor told “Kommersant”, which will classify Telegram as a foreign messenger. By that time, VTB had launched a mobile bank inside a chat bot in Telegram, and Alfa-Bank announced its intention to open banking in Telegram and VK. Later, the chairman of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said that the regulator does not see any risks in the use of Telegram by banks. In February, Alexei Voylukov, Vice President of the Association of Banks of Russia informedthat the association will ask Roskomnadzor not to prohibit the provision of services through Telegram, since the messenger itself does not process payment and personal information.

More details – in the material “Kommersant” “Telegram will be limited in money”.

Yuri Litvinenko