The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) plans to connect Ukraine to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) next year with the aim of financial European integration of the country, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy said.

“We have carried out thorough preparatory work and next year we plan to initiate the process of Ukraine’s accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA),” the head of the National Bank wrote on Facebook.

As Pyshnyy notes, since membership in the European Union (EU) also provides for free movement of capital, the National Bank will continue to work on easing foreign exchange restrictions, moving to greater exchange rate flexibility and returning to inflation targeting in accordance with the developed strategy.

He also noted significant progress in improving legislation for the non-banking sector, pointing out that the transition period for the insurance market, which starts in 2024, “should lead us to full compliance with European standards of regulation and supervision.”

“We will maintain a high pace of modernization of banking legislation. Now our priority is to improve the requirements for the capital structure of banks, which will further increase the reliability of our banking system,” the head of the National Bank informed.