Will Mellow become more expensive with these changes?

No. We're absorbing all the extra costs from these new withdrawal methods. We'd rather make less money than see you break the law.

Can I still withdraw money from Mellow after January 1?

Yes, just not through every method. Russian bank cards will no longer be available. Russian bank accounts and Belarusian cards will only work if they're on the approved list.

Is the conversion rate changing?

It depends on the withdrawal method. For withdrawals to bank accounts, the rate stays the same. For Tajikistan cards, here's how it works: you withdraw in dollars or euros, then the currency converts when you make a card transfer (if the transaction currency doesn't match your card currency). That rate comes from the bank– you can track it in the app.

What happens to my documents?

Nothing changes. Invoices and work completion certificates generate normally.

What if I try adding a Russian card after January 1?

The system won't let you– you'll see an error message.

I create invoices and offers for clients. Can I keep doing that?

Absolutely. The new rules only touch withdrawals, not invoices or offers.

Will Russian cards be supported again in the future?

If sanctions against Russia are lifted, yes.

Cambios en Mellow
Este Enero

Explainer

Compliance

December 3, 2025

Mellow Team

Qué está cambiando en Mellow

Trabajadores autónomos

Individuos de Bielorrusia

Individuos de Rusia

Empresarios individuales

Cómo funcionan las sanciones y por qué...

Por qué estamos haciendo estos cambios...

Por qué una entidad fuera del Reino Unido...

Por qué contratar contratistas fuera...

Por qué la criptografía no es...

¿Puedes realmente trabajar con y...

¿Qué tan de cerca supervisan los reguladores...

Preguntas y respuestas

Copied!

Hola,

Las sanciones contra Rusia de la UE, EE.UU. y Reino Unido se endurecen. El paquete 19 llegó en noviembre, y el 20 ya está en camino.

NSPK – sistema nacional de tarjetas de pago de Rusia – ahora está en la lista de sanciones, lo que también afecta las tarjetas bancarias rusas. Las sanciones por violaciones son graves, incluida la responsabilidad penal potencial.

Nuestro objetivo en Mellow es permitir que las empresas trabajen con sus equipos sin molestias de cumplimiento. Por eso estamos haciendo estos cambios en enero:

A partir del 1 de enero – los retiros a tarjetas de bancos de Bielorrusia solo funcionarán para bancos en nuestra lista aprobada
A partir del 1 de enero – los retiros a cuentas de bancos rusos solo funcionarán para bancos en nuestra lista aprobada
A partir del 12 de enero – las tarjetas bancarias rusas ya no funcionarán para retiros

We’re not going to break the law or put you at risk. Instead, we’re helping companies keep working with their people in a way that’s safe and straightforward.

We’ve partnered with several organizations so you have other ways to get your money.

Pavel Shynkarenko

Founder & CEO of Mellow.io

Learn More About Sanctions

See Your Options

Contents

What's Changing at Mellow

Self-Employed Individuals

Individuals from Belarus

Individuals from Russia

Individual Entrepreneurs

How Sanctions Work and Why We’re...

Q&A

Qué está cambiando en Mellow

Los cambios funcionan de manera diferente dependiendo de si eres un empresario individual (EI), trabajador autónomo, o un individuo de Rusia o Bielorrusia. Aquí está el desglose para cada uno.

Not sure which you are?

Open your Mellow account → “Profile” → “Tax Status” to see what’s set in the system.

Self-Employed Individuals

Withdrawal changes – January 12

Russian bank cards won’t work anymore for withdrawals.
Russian bank accounts will only work if they’re on our approved list – you won’t be able to add other banks

Banks on the approved list

We’ve put together a list of over 150 financial institutions that aren’t under sanctions – Raiffeisenbank, Wildberries Bank, OTP Bank, UniCredit Bank, Credit Europe Bank, Asia-Pacific Bank, Toyota Bank, and others.

Withdrawal Details

Individuals from Belarus

Withdrawals to Belarusian bank cards will only work for approved banks. Right now that’s BNB-Bank, BSB Bank, MTBank, Neo Bank Asia, Paritetbank, Priorbank, StatusBank, Technobank, and Zepter Bank. You won’t be able to add other banks.

Bank Details

Individuals from Russia

Withdrawal changes – January 12

Russian bank cards won’t work anymore since they all run through NSPK.
You can still withdraw to approved bank accounts, but we’ll automatically withhold personal income tax.

Withdrawals with tax withholding – January 12

Starting January 12, 2026, Mellow will serve as your tax agent if you’re a contractor with «Individual» tax status. We’ll automatically calculate and withhold PIT (personal income tax, known in Russia as NDFL) each time you withdraw funds to a Russian bank account.

These changes apply if you’re a contractor from Russia with “Individual” tax status. No, if you’re registered as “Self-employed” or “Individual entrepreneur” – your tax responsibilities stay the same, and you’ll continue reporting on your own.

The New Withdrawal Process

You initiate a withdrawal to a bank account (from the list of approved banks), and Mellow calculates the PIT amount and withholds it automatically
The remaining funds (after tax) arrive in your account
We take care of all Federal Tax Service reporting, so there’s no need for you to declare this income or file Form 3-NDFL
We transfer the withheld tax to the authorities twice each month
By March of the following year, your income and tax statement will be available in your personal Federal Tax Service account

One thing to watch

The date that matters is when you withdraw, not when a client paid you. So if a client paid you in December 2025 but you only withdraw after January 12, 2026, PIT will be withheld.

How Much Tax Will You Pay?

Russia has used a progressive tax scale since 2025, which means your rate depends on your total annual income. Mellow calculates tax based only on what you receive through our platform.

The higher rates apply only to income above each threshold, not to everything you earn. Let’s look at an example with annual income of RUB 3 million:

The first RUB 2.4 million is taxed at 13%: RUB 2.4 million × 13% = RUB 312,000
The remaining RUB 600,000 is taxed at 15%: RUB 600,000 × 15% = RUB 90,000
Your total tax would be RUB 402,000

Non-Residents of Russia

If you’re a non-resident of Russia but withdraw to a Russian bank account, you’re still subject to PIT withholding. The rate depends on your income and ranges from 13% to 22%.

What You Need Before You Can Withdraw

A verified account – This tells us your country of tax residency so we can file the correct reports
Your TIN (taxpayer identification number), known as INN in Russia – Withdrawals to Russian bank accounts won’t work without this

Don’t have these ready? No problem. When you go to withdraw, we’ll walk you through verification and ask you to provide your TIN.

Learn more in our Help Center.

SkyZit – Central Asian Bank Card

Cost

₽17,990 for issuance. You can pay with any Russian or international card.

Limits and Fees

Purchases: up to $1,000 per month
Transfers: up to $25,000 per month, 1% fee

How Currency Conversion Works

The account uses somoni (TJS) as its base currency. When you withdraw dollars or euros from Mellow, the amount automatically converts to somoni at the bank’s exchange rate. The same applies when you transfer to a Russian card – the somoni converts to rubles at the current rate.

Application Process

Everything happens remotely and takes 2–3 business days. Contact the manager on Telegram, fill out the application, send a scan of your passport, complete KYC verification, and pay the issuance fee. If you’d like, you can also order a physical card with delivery.

If you run into any issues, contact our support team and we’ll help you resolve them.

EasyPayments – Armenian and Kyrgyz Bank Cards

Both countries offer cards in dollars or euros, and both work with Mellow withdrawals.

Use this link to apply and send promo-code MELLOW10 to the manager. You will receive a 10% discount.

Other Card Services

Before choosing one of these services, verify the following:

Does the card accept incoming payments in dollars, euros, or rubles? (Some cards only send payments but can’t receive them, which means they won’t work with Mellow)
What are the daily and monthly transaction limits?
How much does maintenance cost?

Important for Russian tax residents

When you open a card at a bank outside Russia, you’re creating a foreign account. Tax law requires you to notify authorities within 30 days to avoid penalties, and you’ll need to report transactions annually.

These services operate independently from Mellow, so we can’t guarantee their service quality or support response times.

E-wallet in Russia – coming in January

We’re setting up an integration with an e-wallet that isn’t under EU, UK, or US sanctions. Russian residents will be able to open one and add it to Mellow for receiving money.

This takes time to set up – we’ll have details in December. You’ll get a separate email from us, and we’ll update this article.

Payment Options

Individual Entrepreneurs

Withdrawal changes – January 1

Russian account withdrawals will only work for approved banks.

Banks on the approved list

Some banks have special offers for our clients. Contact support to learn more.

Bank Options

Cómo funcionan las sanciones y por qué estamos cambiando las reglas

Veamos nuestro modelo operativo y expliquemos cómo funcionan realmente las sanciones.

Por qué estamos haciendo estos cambios

Estamos actualizando nuestras reglas para mantenernos en cumplimiento y protegerte.

Aquí está el problema: cualquier pago a una tarjeta bancaria rusa ahora cae bajo sanciones porque todas funcionan a través del Sistema Nacional de Tarjetas de Pago (NSPK), que está sancionado. Incluso las tarjetas Visa y Mastercard emitidas antes de 2022 – después de que esos sistemas salieron de Rusia, NSPK también tomó el procesamiento para ellas.

Así que estamos asociándonos con proveedores fuera de la infraestructura rusa – como aquellos en Tayikistán. Obtienes tu dinero a un método de pago en esa región, luego lo mueves a donde lo necesites.

We guarantee: money from Mellow never touches Russian payment infrastructure. That’s how we keep you safe.

Por qué una entidad fuera del Reino Unido, EE.UU. y UE no te protegerá de las sanciones

Las sanciones son más complejas de lo que parecen. No puedes simplemente reubicar las operaciones de tu equipo en otra región y escapar de las leyes de sanciones europeas, estadounidenses o británicas.

Esto se interpreta de manera muy amplia. ¿Usar moneda nacional? Eso es una conexión. ¿Pagar por servicios nacionales? Eso también cuenta. Muchos factores entran en juego, y si quieres los detalles completos, consulta los documentos reales: sanciones del Reino Unido, sanciones estadounidenses.

Lo mismo ocurre con las empresas que estructuran sus operaciones para usar intermediarios para acciones que serían prohibidas en la UE, Reino Unido o EE.UU.

Por qué contratar contratistas fuera del Reino Unido, EE.UU. y UE tampoco te protegerá

El regulador europeo establece pasos de verificación mínimos: verificar documentación de transacciones, base de transacciones, estructura de flujo de dinero y rutas de entrega.

If an intermediary service breaks sanctions rules, you’re liable too – the law says you must verify all intermediaries before transacting.

Las consecuencias: cuentas congeladas, multas basadas en facturación, residencia cancelada para residentes europeos, a veces incluso cargos penales.

Y hay otro riesgo: si el intermediario opera y posee activos fuera de la UE/EE.UU./UK, es posible que los reguladores encuentren más fácil perseguirte a ti que a él.

Cuando trabajas con nosotros, puedes confiar en que cumplimos con las sanciones – tenemos que hacerlo. Mellow es un grupo de empresas con nuestra oficina principal en la UE.

Por qué la criptografía no es una opción

We won’t violate sanctions or put you at legal risk.

Monitoreamos regulaciones de criptografía y nos mantenemos actualizados con la legislación. Cuando las leyes cambien, habilitaremos el acceso a cripto de inmediato.

¿Puedes realmente trabajar con residentes rusos y bielorrusos si tu empresa está en la UE, EE.UU. o Reino Unido?

Sí – siempre que la persona no esté sancionada individualmente y estés pagando por servicios que no estén específicamente restringidos.

Ahora mismo, ninguna sanción te impide trabajar con residentes rusos y bielorrusos simplemente porque tengan ciudadanía rusa o bielorrusa o vivan allí.

¿Qué tan de cerca supervisan los reguladores el cumplimiento de sanciones?

You’ve probably noticed banks suddenly updating terms or blocking accounts overnight – that’s sanctions at work.

We won’t block access unless the law requires it. We built Mellow so companies can work with people worldwide safely, quickly, and easily. Our job is lowering your risk, not adding to it – especially in places with tricky banking systems and tangled regulations.

Cambios en Mellow Este Enero

We’re not going to break the law or put you at risk. Instead, we’re helping companies keep working with their people in a way that’s safe and straightforward.

We’ve partnered with several organizations so you have other ways to get your money.

Qué está cambiando en Mellow

Self-Employed Individuals

Individuals from Belarus

Individuals from Russia

Individual Entrepreneurs

Cómo funcionan las sanciones y por qué estamos cambiando las reglas

Por qué estamos haciendo estos cambios

Por qué una entidad fuera del Reino Unido, EE.UU. y UE no te protegerá de las sanciones

Por qué contratar contratistas fuera del Reino Unido, EE.UU. y UE tampoco te protegerá

Por qué la criptografía no es una opción

¿Puedes realmente trabajar con residentes rusos y bielorrusos si tu empresa está en la UE, EE.UU. o Reino Unido?

¿Qué tan de cerca supervisan los reguladores el cumplimiento de sanciones?

Q&A

Cambios en Mellow
Este Enero