New Financial Restrictions Have Been Imposed On Belarusians
- 24.08.2026, 10:50
I started receiving emails from the Payoneer payment system.
Belarusians have begun receiving emails from the Payoneer payment system: as of September 11, all of these users' accounts will be closed, so the service is offering them the option to withdraw their remaining funds. This is reported by Myfin. It was also previously reported that Swiss banks are closing accounts held by our compatriots with permanent residency.
As explained by Payoneer’s technical support, the changes are due to requirements from its partner banks. Previously, the service had imposed restrictions on withdrawals to accounts at Belarusian partner banks.
Our compatriots have faced the problem of how exactly to withdraw funds, as doing so is difficult for Belarusian accounts. The issuance of new virtual cards for Belarusian accounts is also restricted. A number of Payoneer’s partner services have removed Belarus from the list of countries to which funds can be withdrawn; specifically, Fiverr and Patreon have already done so.
Currently, the service allows users to withdraw funds via the Fin do international money transfer system; however, the transfer fee is up to 10%, and the transfer takes 1–2 business days. It is also possible to withdraw funds by taking out cash using existing cards from the service.
In November 2025, Payoneer notified Belarusian users that dollar-denominated bank accounts in Belarus are no longer supported. The service’s email clarified that these measures were taken “to avoid failed transactions.” As a result, dollar accounts for Belarusians are no longer available—customers were advised to choose the euro.
The platform was unable to work with certain Belarusian banks that were subject to Western sanctions. Earlier, the service had banned the registration of new accounts from Belarus, while allowing citizens of our country who have legal status in EU countries and other states to open accounts.
What other financial restrictions have Belarusians faced
In the second half of August this year, it became known that a subsidiary of the Swiss bank Swissquote had terminated its cooperation with a Belarusian client and closed their account without explanation. This concerns the Yuh app, which is popular in Switzerland—an equivalent to Revolut, but with a Swiss bank account and investment features. The contract was terminated on August 11.
Later, the local publication insideparadeplatz.ch published an article claiming that Russian citizens with a Permit C had faced similar problems. Their accounts at Swissquote and Yuh were closed.