Kyrgyzstan"s National Bank Introduces "Cooling-Off Period" for Online Loans to Protect Against Fraud

The National Bank informed that the duration of the "cooling off period" will depend on the amount of the loan.

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The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan has implemented a "cooling-off period" for online loans to help protect citizens from financial fraud.

This decision was made by the Board of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, The Caspian Post reports, citing Kyrgyz media.

"Cooling-off period" is the period, during which the bank does not transfer money to the borrower so that the client has the opportunity to refuse the loan and terminate the agreement. For example, if it turns out that the online loan was provided to him or her by fraudsters, the bank specifies.

The National Bank informed that the duration of the "cooling off period" will depend on the amount of the loan:

• From 15,000 to 50,000 soms — three hours;
• From 50,000 to 100,000 soms — six hours;
• Over 100,000 soms — 24 hours.

During the «cooling off period», financial and credit organizations will be obliged to make a control call to obtain the client’s confirmation of the online loan, if the amount exceeds 100,000 soms. If the control call is not made in time, the money cannot be transferred to clients.

At a meeting of the Parliament on October 17, Deputy Chairman of the central bank of the country Bektur Aliev said that the National Bank intended to introduce a «cooling off period» mechanism for online loans.