According to the Izvestia newspaper, the All-Russian Popular Front sent a letter to the head of the Central Bank, in which he indicated that bank commissions when paying for housing and communal services should be canceled in the near future, without waiting for the approval of the corresponding the bill. Today, commissions range from 0.5% to 3%, depending on the lending institution, although some banks have already made this service free of charge.
Are the levies canceled?
During the period of self-isolation, Russians will be forced to pay for housing and communal services remotely. And since the most responsible citizens stay at home, the bills themselves can grow dramatically.
- The commissions that banks now charge are an additional financial burden on families with low incomes. It would be unfair to charge additional fees from people who are forced to self-isolate, - said the coordinator of the Center for Monitoring the Improvement of the Urban Environment of the ONF Svetlana Kalinina.
“On average, the amount of additional costs is 0.5–3% of the payment amount,” said Svetlana Razorotneva, executive director of NP Housing and Utilities Control.
However, the issue of canceling the commissions is not the competence of the Central Bank, says the head of the State Duma Committee on Housing Policy and Housing and Utilities, Galina Khovanskaya. For this, it is necessary to pass the law, she stressed.
Earlier, banks and payment agents warned that they may close their services for accepting payments for utilities due to plans to cancel fees.
