Ukraine’s Oschadbank Adds 1-2% Fees to Gambling Card Payments
The bank published the changes on November 6. Its official notice lists MCC 7995, covering payments to bookmakers, casinos, online gambling sites and lottery ticket purchases. Both domestic and overseas transactions made with credit funds are marked as unavailable.
A UAH 5,000 Payment Will Carry Up to UAH 100 in Fees
The new charges are calculated as a percentage of the payment amount. The table shows what customers would pay on deposits of UAH 1,000 and UAH 5,000:
| Payment amount | In Ukraine (1%) | Abroad (2%) |
|---|---|---|
| UAH 1,000 (~$22.06) | UAH 10 (~$0.22) | UAH 20 (~$0.44) |
| UAH 5,000 (~$110.32) | UAH 50 (~$1.10) | UAH 100 (~$2.21) |
These are 15M calculations using the National Bank of Ukraine’s exchange rate for November 12: UAH 45.3222 per US dollar.
Splitting a payment into smaller amounts does not reduce the percentage charge. Five domestic payments of UAH 1,000 would cost UAH 50 in total, the same as one UAH 5,000 payment. Abroad, both approaches would cost UAH 100.
The Fee Is Charged to the Cardholder
Oschadbank is changing its personal card-account tariffs. The announcement does not concern merchant acquiring rates or the fees that gambling operators pay their payment processors.
Ukraine already restricts gambling payments made with borrowed money. The NBU introduced a ban on credit-funded transfers to online gambling operators in June 2024 under Resolution No. 72.
The December update concerns the cost of using personal funds. For players using Oschadbank cards, an otherwise unchanged deposit will become more expensive.
How the Fees Could Affect Deposits
Whether this leads to fewer deposits or a shift to other payment methods is unknown. The November 6 notice provides no transaction volumes or estimate of the likely impact.
Operators accepting these cards may need to revise payment information that currently describes deposits as fee-free. The same applies to affiliates promoting those payment options to Ukrainian players.
The new tariffs take effect on December 10.
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