The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus issued Resolution No. 13 on January 16, 2026, requiring Group I systemically important banks to enable KROK — a QR-code-based instant payment service operating within the ERIP platform — by July 1, 2026. All remaining banks must follow by end of year.
KROK allows customers to make instant payments directly from bank accounts without cards, scanning a QR code at the point of sale. The service builds on Belarus's Instant Payment System launched in April 2023, which processed approximately BYN 15 billion in 2025, more than a third higher than in 2024.
The mandate comes as BISS, the country's real-time gross settlement system, undergoes its own modernisation. The NBRB is working on BISS 2.0, a migration to ISO 20022 messaging standards, though no confirmed go-live date has been announced. Separately, the central bank confirmed in February 2026 that it is moving forward with a digital Belarusian ruble built on Hyperledger Fabric, with a target launch in the second half of 2026.
These developments proceed against the backdrop of Western sanctions that have disconnected nine Belarusian banks from SWIFT, pushing the country toward deeper integration with Russian payment infrastructure including the SBP cross-border instant transfer system and SPFS messaging network.