A filter for access to money. What will the new rules for credit history be

On October 7, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada adopted it in the first readingdraft law bill legislative proposal No. 14013 "On Credit History". This document updates the system for recording and exchanging data on borrowers, which previously operated under the rules of 2005. The goal is to reduce the number of fraudulent loans and give citizens more control over their own financial information.

After the law is passed, credit history will essentially become the main tool for assessing solvency in Ukraine. As Ihor Yasko, managing partner of the Winner law firm, notes, credit bureaus will become key players in the financial market.

What risks are present in the draft law, how the "stop-credit" mechanism will work, and why credit history will be very important in Ukraine – in this article LIGA.net

Filter for access to money

The main change brought about by the document, if adopted, is that credit history becomes the central filter for a borrower's access to money. With its help, decisions on granting loans in banks will be made faster, and the borrower's creditworthiness will become decisive for providing financing.

And although the bureaus do not directly make decisions on granting loans, their role in preventing an increase in the level of non-performing loans in the financial services market is critically important, the authors of the draft law note in the explanatory note to the document.

"The information about the borrower's payment discipline, processed and analyzed by them, is the basis for the financial institutions to make the aforementioned decisions," the explanatory note reads.

Financial institutions that fail to consider credit history when issuing loans will face penalties. Currently, there is no such provision in the legislation.

The National Bank will receive the status of regulator for credit bureaus. It will establish cybersecurity standards, conduct audits, certify systems, and be able to impose sanctions. The NBU will also have the right to deny access to the market for bureaus if their owners or management do not meet integrity requirements.

In fact, a credit history is transforming from a reference document into the foundation of a person's financial identity. And the balance between convenience for the market and the protection of borrowers' rights will depend on how effectively the NBU's supervision works.

Changes for Borrowers

A key innovation of the draft law is that Ukrainians will be able to manage their credit history. Specifically, they will have free access to it, as well as the right to correct or delete data. Information in the system will be stored for up to ten years from the date the loan is closed.

A mechanism to combat fraud is also being introduced. Namely, the concept of a "stop-credit": or a written refusal to enter into new loan agreements. In such a case, any loan issued in her name will be considered invalid.

Banks and other lenders will be required to regularly transmit updated information about borrowers to credit bureaus – within two business days. In addition to credit data, credit history may include information about employment, income level, and marital status.

Such an expansion will allow for a more accurate assessment of the creditworthiness of a potential borrower, but at the same time increases the risk that the information may be obtained by criminals. This is pointed out by Svetlana Troshchinska, a lawyer specializing in corporate and commercial law at the Proctor Law Firm. According to Ihor Yas'ko, managing partner of the Winner Law Firm, the document will disproportionately increase the amount of personal data.

Risks to privacy and security

The draft law is a step forward, but its effectiveness will depend on what is added in the second reading, according to those interviewed. LIGA.net lawyers. The biggest challenge is to ensure that the system does not turn into just another registry, but actually protects people from errors and fraud.

Moreover, a large amount of information creates high risks to privacy and security: the probability of leaks and abuse increases. Igor Tarasenko, a lawyer at the law firm "Tarasenko & Partners," explains that excessive data accumulation creates a "vulnerability passport": if mistakes are made, they multiply across databases and become almost irreversible, and algorithmic scoring can provide biased assessments.

The concentration of all this data in private bureaus makes it an attractive target for hackers. Therefore, lawyers insist that the amount of data should be limited: only information that actually affects credit risk assessment should be included in credit history. Employment history, marital status, or income – only with consent.

It is important to codify cybersecurity standards in law, prohibit the commercial use of data, and include courts and executive authorities in the list of users with clear procedural restrictions and access logging.

Without such access, it becomes more difficult for agencies to collect debts, conduct bankruptcy proceedings, and distribute property in divorces. The court cannot independently verify the accuracy of the data because credit history remains accessible only to banks and bureaus, according to the lawyers interviewed.

What is the "stop-credit" mechanism?

One of the most controversial parts of the draft law is the "stop-credit" mechanism. The mechanism works as follows: a person can preemptively prohibit the issuance of loans in their name, and any agreement concluded after such a statement will be considered invalid. This approach should reduce the number of fraudulent loans issued using forged passports or stolen personal data.

However, the effectiveness of the tool will depend on the timely updating of information by all creditors. Given a unified digital registry, this tool can indeed reduce the number of fraudulent loans, says Ihor Yas'ko, managing partner of the Winner law firm.

"We need a single 'off switch', real-time verification before each loan, an access log, and penalties for violations. Without this, it's more of an illusion of protection than a shield," says Ihor Tarasenko.

In the current version of the draft law, the mechanism is vaguely defined. There is a risk that a dishonest borrower will be able to file a "stop-credit" request after receiving the loan and try to challenge its validity, according to Hanna Ishchenko, managing partner of the law firm "Hanna Ishchenko and Partners".

"This is a preventive protection mechanism that automatically renders the loan worthless without the need for court decisions. But without a technically flawless registry, we will get a beautiful norm that doesn't work," adds Svitlana Trochynska.