Vaccination against debt dependence: in Russia they wanted to simplify the introduction of self-prohibitions on loans

The new bill will not be a panacea for fraudulent activities

Passions flared up around the mechanism for establishing a self-ban on loans, which Russian legislators wanted to simplify. According to the latest initiative, the opportunity to apply for a voluntary refusal to issue loans should be available to Russians not only on the State Services portal or through an application to the MFC, but also directly through banks and microfinance organizations (MFOs). This norm could come into effect as early as January 2026.

Amendments implying the introduction of a self-prohibition on issuing loans not only through an application to the MFC or using the State Services portal, but also through banks and microfinance organizations, are contained in the working version of the bill prepared for the second reading and introducing amendments to the laws “On Consumer Credit” and “ About credit histories.”

The initial purpose of the innovations was the desire of legislators to protect Russians from the actions of scammers and spontaneous purchases. According to arbitration manager Alexander Tkachenko, the emergence of the possibility of self-prohibition in the field of lending will benefit both banks and borrowers, because an unjustified loan can lead to personal bankruptcy and deprivation of property.

The possible change in legal norms was confirmed by one of the initiators of the bill being discussed, the head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov, although he himself is critical of them. “I am against this because banks are interested organizations, and they can create problems for those who want to establish a self-ban,” the deputy explained. “This is an opportunity for abuse.”

As Investment Advisor to IC Fontvielle Maxim Fedorov pointed out, the initiative has been discussed for almost two years, and adding new channels in the form of banks and microfinance organizations to the system will delay the possible adoption of the bill indefinitely. “The best is the enemy of the good, so first it would be nice to implement this opportunity through State Services, and then improve the system,” the financier explained.

“This whole story with the inclusion of banks in the topic of self-ban, in my opinion, is nothing more than an attempt to get an additional delay on the part of financial participants,” agrees Dmitry Yanin, Chairman of the Board of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies (ConfOP). “Initially, the bill provided for the possibility of self-ban through a face-to-face visit to the MFC or through State Services and, in my opinion, these are quite convenient tools and structures that can serve those who are worried about their money and do not want to take out a loan unexpectedly.”

Banks emerged in this scheme later and on their own initiative. The human rights activist is confident that they could be included in the scheme, but a two-year delay for the law to come into force should not be given. Ideally, it should have been adopted this year.

“In essence, this is the same as a ban on a citizen completing real estate transactions without personal presence,” Polina Gusyatnikova, senior managing partner of the law firm PG Partners, develops the topic. “Such an initiative should be launched as soon as possible: there is no point in waiting until 2026.”

At the same time, experts look at the very effectiveness of the discussed legal initiative very carefully. Many are confident that this bill will not be a panacea for fraudulent activities. You need to understand that setting a self-ban on loans requires a certain level of financial literacy and awareness of actions from a person, and people with such qualities rarely become victims of scammers.

Among the disadvantages of the proposed initiative, experts point out that after the adoption of this bill, scammers will clearly increase their interest in gaining access to the personal accounts of users of State Services. There is already a noticeable surge in requests. “Access to government services is one of the most popular and cheapest services on the darknet,” says the head of InDeFi Smart Bank, Sergei Mendeleev, pointing out the vulnerability of the project for self-bans on issuing loans.

As a result, the most effective way to counter fraudsters, taking into account how inventive they are in their schemes, remains financial literacy. And the most effective option for preventing fraudulent loans, according to Alexei Volkov, Marketing Director of the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBKI), is regular control and monitoring by citizens of their credit history and personal credit rating.