Ukraine's National Bank to ease FX restrictions for overseas medical treatment payments, regulate URIF settlements
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will ease foreign exchange restrictions for payments related to medical treatment abroad starting April 4 and will regulate settlements of the American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF), according to the regulator's website.
The NBU has allowed individuals requiring treatment abroad, their relatives, or charitable foundations to purchase foreign currency for accumulation in an account at a Ukrainian bank until the full amount required for settlement with a foreign medical institution is collected. This applies both to the cost of treatment itself and to related expenses, including tests, consultations, inpatient care, and meals.
At the same time, the purchase of foreign currency and subsequent transfer of funds abroad must be carried out through a single bank. Unused funds or currency returned by the medical institution must be sold by the bank on Ukraine's foreign exchange market within two business days after the final payment date under the contract or its termination.
Existing rules already allowed individuals to purchase and transfer funds for treatment abroad without any limit on the amount, but did not provide for the possibility of accumulating foreign currency in advance until the full required sum was reached.
Separately, the NBU has regulated the execution within Ukraine of hryvnia and foreign currency settlements by URIF and its local representative office, DFC Ukraine Subsoil LLC, for the implementation of agreements and government decisions related to the fund's establishment and operations.
As reported, on March 25 the URIF governing board approved its first investment in Ukrainian technology company Sine Engineering, which operates in the field of communications and navigation (dual-use technologies).
According to Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, more than 200 applications have been submitted for the fund's consideration, over half of them from Ukrainian companies, primarily in the energy sector, defense technologies, and critical minerals.
