In May 2026, the National Bank fined operators of two largest self-service terminal networks — EasyPay (LLC "FK Kontraktovyy Dim") and City24 (LLC "Swift Garant") — 135 million hryvnia each. The reason: violations of financial monitoring requirements, particularly regarding client identification.
45,000 terminals — and no proper checks
EasyPay and City24 together control approximately 70% of Ukraine's payment terminal market: over 45,000 devices combined — three times more than PrivatBank. About 10 million operations pass through EasyPay monthly. According to sources at Interfax-Ukraine in the regulator, the National Bank estimates the combined monthly turnover of both networks at approximately $1 billion in hryvnia equivalent.
The vast majority of detected transactions are bank card top-ups, particularly monobank. This is where the National Bank identified the problem: operations should have undergone verification both on the part of terminal networks and on the part of receiving banks — but they did not.
"During these inspections, our hypothesis proved true — that these terminals are a source of black cash in the system".
Source in the National Bank, "Ekonomichna Pravda"
Who owns the networks
EasyPay is operated by brothers Oleksiy and Anton Avramenko. According to YouControl, last year the company earned 2.11 billion hryvnia in revenue with a net profit of almost 118 million hryvnia — meaning the 135 million hryvnia fine exceeds the annual profit.
City24 belongs to Serhiy Horban and is part of the Askania group of companies. Following the publication by Ekonomichna Pravda, the group responded: "As of today, there are no established facts or official decisions from competent authorities that would confirm the involvement of group companies in illegal activities".
What the National Bank is changing
The fines are not an isolated case but a signal for systemic change. Starting March 3, 2026, a new National Bank resolution took effect that establishes stricter requirements for client identification during transfers without opening an account through terminals. Financial companies were given six months to update their systems.
- Terminal networks are obligated to verify clients for transactions that meet risk criteria.
- Receiving banks share joint responsibility for monitoring incoming flows.
- The regulator directly points to terminals as one of the channels for legalizing cash of questionable origin.
For the average user, this means potential restrictions on anonymous card top-ups through terminals — a convenience used by millions of Ukrainians monthly.
A fine of 135 million hryvnia for EasyPay exceeds its annual net profit. If the National Bank does not stop at sanctions and introduces mandatory identification even for small transactions — some terminals will become unprofitable, and networks will begin reducing operations. The question is whether the National Bank can implement real control without millions of people who pay utilities or top up their phones with cash facing another barrier to access to basic financial services.
