KoronaPay bans crypto related remittances

KoronaPay is a large money transfer service in Russia and the CIS region - where money transfer fees are among the lowest in the world. The company is now looking to win over the migrant population in Europe and now offers payments across 79 countries in Europe, CIS, Middle East and Asia.

KoronaPay has formally banned all crypto related transactions. It has also deployed a specially designed anti-fraud tool that uses AI to monitor and block transactions with crypto exchanges. The move follows reports that The Central Bank of Russia has started to examine the operations of Russian banks with cryptocurrency exchanges, which it believes carry risks of financial losses and fraud.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, Russians are among the most active users in the cryptocurrency market with transaction volumes reaching USD 5 billion a year. Russia also ranks third in Bitcoin mining. The Central Bank has proposed a ban on the mining of cryptocurrencies as well as prohibit the payment of goods and services using digital currencies, including the issuance and exchange of cryptocurrencies. The Central Bank is also looking to introduce a ban on investing in cryptocurrencies.