Russian Sberbank cancels money transfers to Kazakhstani cards after one day of this practice

Russian Sberbank has canceled the option of transferring money to any cards issued by Kazakhstani banks with the help of its mobile app, Frank Media reported.

According to the media outlet, the bank is returning money to customers if their transactions aren’t completed. Several customers who failed to make a transfer and haven’t yet received their money back were told by the bank’s support service that all funds and fees would be returned within five days.

On September 5, Sberbank introduced a new feature in its mobile app allowing customers to send money to any card issued by banks in Kazakhstan, including those issued by the international payment systems Visa and Mastercard, which ceased cooperation with Russian banks and left the country in March 2022.

Previously, Sberbank didn’t allow its clients to transfer money to Kazakhstan via its mobile app, although it was possible if a client came to the bank in person.

Currently, Sberbank’s app supports money transfers to a few CIS countries, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Moscow considers as independent states. In addition, it is possible to send money to cards issued by Belkart in Belarus, Elkart in Kyrgyzstan and Korti Milli in Tajikistan.