Transfer processing center system not studied and coordinated thoroughly, says expert

“Judging by the fact that money transfer companies have pleaded with the National Bank of Tajikistan to allow for a six-month postponement to further clarify the finer technical and regulatory details of the payment processing center, this system has not been studied and coordinated properly,” Umarboqiyev told Asia-Plus in an interviews.  

“It is supposed that all cross-border remittances without opening a bank account will be run through the “security system” of the National Bank of Tajikistan.  It is known that approximately 3 billon U.S. dollars are transferred from Russia to Tajikistan annually.  Russian media reports say the Russian side alone earns 6-7 billion rubles (equivalent to some 100 million USD) from these transactions.          

“Question now is…how much Tajikistan earns from the remittance inflow?  Judging by many posts and comments in social networks, another question came up…who earns from this and how much?    

“These are definitely not labor migrants, whose remittances are equal to 30 percent of the national budget.

“It is clear to everyone that the national budget, which will receive short-term fast money, will benefit from this game at best.

“But in real, a handful of authorized persons, who have convinced Tajik central bank leadership and the government of benefit of this formula, will win.

“One of my colleagues, who is quite knowledgeable about public management, predicts that new rules will earn someone 15-35 million U.S. dollars per year.  And this is not necessarily a state.  It even may be an offshore company.  

“I do not rule out the possibility of participation of the Central Bank of Russia and its affiliates in this redistribution.    

“Indeed, media reports note that commission rates have not changed, but in my humble opinion, they will change very soon,” said the expert 

Recall, the National Processing Center for Remittance Management began operating in Tajikistan on December 3.  It means that all cross-border remittances without opening a bank account must be repaid through this Center.

Tajik central bank announced in a statement on October 3 that it was set to create its own transfer processing center to insure against wiring companies being unable to repay money to the banks inside Tajikistan that hand out the hard cash to recipients.

Jamoliddin Nouraliyev, the first deputy head of the NBT, has insisted the arrangement would not incur any additional costs for customers, although this claim has generated skepticism among those convinced the government is just seeking to create another stream of revenue.