E-signatures in finance and NPL transactions in Ukraine

  1.  E-contracting, e-statements and e-signatures in banking & finance transaction contracts and legal statements
    1. Which are the typical documents (contracts, legal statements, etc.) where written form, paper format and wet-ink signatures are mandatory?
    2. Which are the typical documents where written form is mandatory, and electronic form and e-signature are allowed?
    3.  If the written form is mandatory and electronic form and electronic signature is allowed in banking & finance transactions and agreements, what kind of e-signature is sufficient?
    4. Is there any other electronic signing/acceptance/ statement making method which meets the criteria of written documents in banking & finance transactions and agreements?
    5.  If written form is not mandatory, what kind of e-signature or other e-acceptance method is sufficient?
  2.  Electronic attorney countersigning, notarial deed and Apostille
    1.  Is the attorney countersigning accepted in electronic form? If yes, in what form and on what conditions?
    2.  Is the notarial deed accepted in electronic form? If yes, with what conditions? 
    3.  Is the Apostille accepted in electronic form (e-Apostille)? Is your jurisdiction member of the e-Apostille Program (e-APP)?
  3. Electronic AML customer authentication/identification
    1.  Is the AML customer authentication/identification allowed in electronic way?
    2. Which electronic AML customer authentication (verification)/identification methods are accepted? 
    3.  Are the beneficiary owner declaration and PEP declaration accepted in electronic form? If yes, with what kind of formalities?

As a rule, a loan agreement must be concluded in writing if its contractual value is at least ten times higher than the statutory minimum taxable income of private citizens, and regardless of the amount if the lender is a legal entity.

An agreement will be considered as concluded in writing if its substance is fixed in one or several documents, letters, or telegrams exchanged by the parties, and it is signed by the parties. Agreements in electronic form signed with a qualified e-signature (“QES”) are equal to written agreements signed with a wet-ink signature, while standard electronic signatures are acceptable only if the parties have explicitly agreed to this in writing in an initial agreement and attach the example of their handwritten signatures.

However, agreements and other documents that are subject to notarisation (e.g., mortgage agreements, powers of attorney) or state registration (e.g., pledge agreements) must be signed with wet-ink signatures.

1.2 Which are the typical documents where written form is mandatory, and electronic form and e-signature are allowed?

In the case of non-notarised banking/finance agreements, there is no direct prohibition on using e-signatures. Subject to the above exceptions, in cases where the parties wish to execute the agreement electronically, they may do so.
The most typical document to sign with electronic signatures is a loan agreement. It is also common to sign various documents between banks or other financial institutions and their clients, e.g., account opening agreement, deposit agreement.

1.3 If the written form is mandatory and electronic form and electronic signature is allowed in banking & finance transactions and agreements, what kind of e-signature is sufficient?

Advanced e-signatures (“AES”) and standard e-signatures as well as certain types of other electronic signing methods (such as scanned versions of agreements sent via email, signing through online platforms, and click-on agreements) are accepted as written if the parties have explicitly agreed to so in writing in an initial agreement and attach samples of the handwritten signatures.

1.4 Is there any other electronic signing/acceptance/ statement making method which meets the criteria of written documents in banking & finance transactions and agreements?

Please see question 3 above.

1.5 If written form is not mandatory, what kind of e-signature or other e-acceptance method is sufficient?

An electronic form of agreement is considered to be equal to the written form under Ukrainian law. 

If the written form is mandatory but a paper version is not required, the agreement can be signed with any type of electronic signature subject to prior agreement (as mentioned in question 3 above).

2. Electronic attorney countersigning, notarial deed and Apostille

2.1 Is the attorney countersigning accepted in electronic form? If yes, in what form and on what conditions?

There is no such concept as attorney countersigning under Ukrainian law.

2.2 Is the notarial deed accepted in electronic form? If yes, with what conditions? 

No. 

2.3 Is the Apostille accepted in electronic form (e-Apostille)? Is your jurisdiction member of the e-Apostille Program (e-APP)?

The apostille is not accepted in electronic form in Ukraine, however there is an e-Register of apostilles available at: https://apostille.minjust.gov.ua

It is also possible to verify the authenticity of an apostille via a QR-code which is attached to the document as a stamp.

The electronic register of apostilles is the database of apostilles affixed to documents issued by the judiciary and courts, as well as to documents issued by notaries in Ukraine and on all other types of documents. 

3. Electronic AML customer authentication/identification

3.1 Is the AML customer authentication/identification allowed in electronic way?

Yes.

3.2 Which electronic AML customer authentication (verification)/identification methods are accepted? 

There are several identification methods available in Ukraine that can be used to obtain administrative, public, bank, financial, and other commercial and non-commercial services:

  1. BankID: this service is provided by the National Bank of Ukraine and is available to clients of BankID member banks (those banks that support this way of identification: PrivatBank, Universal Bank, Oschadbank, etc). The list of these banks is constantly updated and there are currently more than 30 member banks. 
  2. MobileID: this service is provided by mobile operators (Vodafone and Kyivstar up to now), in the case a SIM card contains an electronic signature. 
  3. Electronic signature, which has the form of a separate file, is stored on a secure medium or recorded on an ID-card.

3.3 Are the beneficiary owner declaration and PEP declaration accepted in electronic form? If yes, with what kind of formalities?

Yes. 

To establish the ultimate beneficiary owners, banks are obliged to demand the ownership structure from the client. To determine the client’s PEP status, banks use both information provided by the client and information available to the bank from other sources.

If banks need to obtain particular information from the client in the form of a letter/questionnaire, such documents may be signed with a QES. However, in practice banks request paper versions of questionnaires signed with wet-ink signatures. 

When the banks have collected all the necessary data and only have to update it, they can use remote communication services with clients, such as emails, documents signed with the use of a QES/AES, telephone, and other remote communication channels.

Portrait ofImage of Iryna Barlit
Iryna Barlit
Associate
Kyiv (CMS CMNO)