She noted that changes in the legislation on the protection of bank deposits have already allowed issuers of electronic money, which are banks, to receive protection from the Deposit Protection Agency. Currently, both bank accounts and electronic wallets are actively used in the financial market.
“We propose to extend the inheritance practice that applies to bank accounts to electronic wallets. This is due to the increasing number of electronic wallet holders and the significant amounts stored in them,” Zhaparoа stated.
According to her, this decision was made in response to the growth of funds held by the public in electronic wallets. The National Bank supported this initiative from the Ministry of Justice, and the draft law will be submitted for consideration to the Jogorku Kenesh.
Reference
LAW OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
“On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic on Inheritance of Electronic Money”
Article 1
Amend part II of the Civil Code of the Kyrgyz Republic (Bulletin of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic, 1998, No. 6, Art. 226) as follows:
1) part 1 of Article 1120 shall be stated in the following wording:
“1. The inheritance includes all rights and obligations, including rights to electronic money and other digital assets, held by the testator at the time of the opening of the inheritance, which do not cease upon their death.”;
Article 2
1. Amend the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the Payment System of the Kyrgyz Republic” (Bulletin of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic, 2015, No. 1, Art. 21) as follows:
1) Article 6 shall be supplemented by parts 12 and 13 of the following content:
“12. In the event of the death of the electronic money holder, the claims for the return of these funds shall be included in the inheritance in accordance with the civil legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.
13. The issuer of electronic money is obliged, upon receiving official notification of the death of the holder:
1) to cease operations on the deceased's electronic wallet;
2) to provide, at the request of the notary, information on the existence of electronic money, their volume, and the wallet details;
3) to issue or transfer the funds in the deceased's electronic wallet to the heirs or their legal representatives based on documents confirming the rights of inheritance, in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.”;
Article 3
Amend the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Banks and Banking Activities” (newspaper “Erkin-Too” dated August 17, 2022, No. 72-74) as follows:
1) in paragraph 5 of part 3 of Article 67, replace the words “deceased depositors” with “the existence of electronic money in the electronic wallets of deceased persons.”
Article 4
This Law shall enter into force ten days after its official publication.
