Russian Defense Ministry moves to limit number of banks to which soldiers can receive payments

The Russian Defense Ministry has prepared a bill that, if passed, will limit the number of banks Russian soldiers can use to receive their salaries and benefit payments, according to RBC.

Currently, soldiers can withdraw payments through any of 77 different banks. Under the new proposal, they would have to use either designated military branches of the Russian Central Bank or other banks from a government-approved list.

According to the bill’s authors, shortening the list of approved banks will lower the risk of information about troop deployment or servicemen’s personal information being leaked to third parties.