Why we are telling this story.
At Nordic Fintech Magazine, we are driven by a single belief: financial services are more than just a means to an end. They are the infrastructure that supports modern life, enabling people to work, pay, save, and build for the future. When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, we, like the rest of the world, watched in shock. We saw images of destruction, of cities reduced to rubble, endless lines of cars headed towards the border with families fleeing their homes.
But in the face of war, we also saw something else, an untold story. A different frontline. A battle fought not with weapons, but with technology, resilience, and human ingenuity. As a fintech publication, we are not first responders. We do not provide humanitarian aid or military assistance. But we do have a platform. And when we saw how Ukraine’s financial system continued to function against all odds, we knew we had to tell this story.
With the invaluable help of ProMoney and its founder, Karolina Aleksandrova, we were granted exclusive access to interview key figures shaping Ukraine’s financial resilience. These included representatives from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), PrivatBank, the country’s largest universal bank, Oschadbank, and iPay, one of Ukraine’s foremost payment providers. We also spoke with Monobank, the nation’s first and largest neobank, and Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine, the leading foreign bank operating within Ukrainian territory. “The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for three years, and all this time, alongside the military front, Ukrainians have been carrying the financial front on their shoulders, keeping the economy running and securing the stability and future of the country,” Aleksandrova told us.
“Who are these people? They are men and women who, every day, despite all the challenges, blackouts, 20-hour power outages, bombings, and air raid sirens, continue to do their jobs well. And these stories deserve to be told to the world as examples of resilience and the unbreakable spirit of Ukrainians.” The insights we gathered from those on the frontlines of Ukraine’s financial sector provided an unparalleled look into how, against all odds, the country’s economy continues to function, offering not just stability, but hope. These are the unsung heroes of Ukraine’s resistance, the people who ensured that citizens could still buy food, businesses could still pay salaries, and soldiers on the frontlines could still receive donations. This is their story.
Prepared for the Worst
When the first explosions rang out in the early hours of February 24, 2022, Ukraine’s financial sector faced an immediate and unprecedented challenge. Banks had to make split-second decisions to protect their employees, secure financial data, and ensure that millions of Ukrainians could still access their money. In an instant, the country was thrust into chaos, and the stability of its economy depended on how quickly its financial institutions could adapt. For the average Ukrainian, life changed overnight. ATMs became a focal point of anxiety, as people rushed to withdraw cash, unsure if the banking system would hold.
Businesses, already reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, suddenly found themselves in a wartime economy. Customers feared that electronic payments would fail, salaries would not be processed, and their life savings could vanish. In this moment of uncertainty, Ukraine’s financial sector had to prove its resilience. Before the first missile fell, before the world truly understood what was coming, some in Ukraine’s banking sector were already preparing.
“The stress and the preparation began a few months before,” said Elena Lukyanchuk, Head of Operations at Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine. “We started working on our business continuity plans in October 2021. We created five scenarios, from localized conflict to full-scale invasion. Nobody believed in the worst-case scenario. But we prepared anyway.” That preparation would prove critical. When the invasion began, Raiffeisen already had backup teams in place, trained employees in alternative roles, and had begun securing cloudbased infrastructure.
Dmytro Musiienko, Board Member at PrivatBank, recalls a moment that highlighted the urgency of action. “I clearly remember the day a missile landed near our data center in Dnipro. That was when we realized, 18.5 million customers could lose access to their money in an instant. We had to act fast.” Banks were forced to adapt rapidly. In those early days, branch networks had to be assessed for safety, alternative work setups had to be implemented, and emergency coordination with the National Bank of Ukraine became critical. The ability to maintain financial transactions, ensure the safety of deposits, and provide people with access to their funds became top priorities. “War changes everything overnight,” said Anatoliy Rogalskiy of Monobank.
“But people still need to buy food. Businesses still need to operate. The financial system had to work, no matter what.” The challenge was not just operational, it was psychological. Banking professionals, many of whom had families to protect and personal fears to manage, had to keep working under the most extreme conditions. Many worked from bomb shelters or improvised office spaces. “Every day, we woke up to sirens, checked on our loved ones, and then logged in to ensure payments were going through,” said one senior executive who asked to remain anonymous.
“The war didn’t pause financial obligations. If anything, it made them more urgent.” Despite the shock of the initial days, Ukraine’s banking professionals found strength in their shared mission. “We had no choice but to keep going,” said Elena Lukyanchuk. “Because if we stopped, everything else would stop, too.”
We created five scenarios, from localized conflict to full-scale invasion. Nobody believed in the worst-case scenario. But we prepared anyway.
Elena Lukyanchuk Head of Operations at Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine
How Banks Became a Lifeline During Ukraine’s Energy Crisis
One of the most pressing challenges was power. When Russian missile strikes targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, entire cities were thrown into darkness, overnight. The hum of electrical appliances was replaced by an silence, broken only by air raid sirens. In this new reality, where power outages became a common occurrence, sometimes for hours or even days at a time, the financial system faced a pressing question: how could people continue to access their money?
Without electricity, ATMs became useless, payment terminals failed to process transactions, and even bank branches, which traditionally served as a point of access to the financial system, became inoperative. “To meet these challenges, we established Power Banking,” said Oleksii Shaban, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). “Power Banking has repeatedly proved its ability to operate and provide necessary services to customers during blackouts.” Power Banking was a unified effort among Ukraine’s financial institutions, coordinated by the NBU. The goal was simple but ambitious: equip branches with generators, Starlink terminals, and independent internet connections so that banking services could continue, even in the worst conditions. “Our bank branches became lifelines,” Musiienko added. “People came not just to withdraw money, but to charge their phones, connect with loved ones, and find warmth during winter blackouts.” Anton Tyutyun, Deputy CEO of Oschadbank, described the scale of their commitment: “We have the biggest branch network in Ukraine, so we equipped 800 branches with independent power. Beyond banking, this was about survival.”
Power Banking has repeatedly proved its ability to operate and provide necessary services to customers during blackouts.
Oleksii Shaban Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU)
For many Ukrainians, bank branches went from being mere financial institutions to becoming a symbol of resilience. Evgeny Velikanov, General Manager of iPay, emphasized the importance of this collaboration. “The f inancial ecosystem in Ukraine is very strong. Banks, fintech companies, and regulators work together, and the National Bank of Ukraine coordinates the financial system. The Power Banking initiative allowed us to keep payments running, even in the most difficult conditions.” In areas where electricity was cut off for days or even weeks, these branches provided a sense of normalcy amidst the chaos.
A 45 Day Digital Transformation
Even with physical banking secured, another and perhaps even more threatening challenge to the integrity of the financial system loomed: data security. Banks needed to ensure that, even if their physical locations were destroyed, customers could still access their accounts.
PrivatBank, the largest universal bank in the country with over 18 million customers, made one of the boldest moves, migrating 3,500 servers and over six petabytes of customer data to a secure cloud environment in just 45 days.
“Normally, this would take two years,” Musiienko said. “We had no choice but to work at an accelerated pace. The risk of losing everything was too great.” Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine followed suit. “We were the second bank in Ukraine after PrivatBank to move everything to the cloud,” Lukyanchuk explained. “If physical systems were destroyed, we could still function.” Dmytro Musiienko highlighted the crucial role played by the National Bank of Ukraine in enabling this transition.
“Before the war, banks were not allowed to store customer data outside of Ukraine. But with the growing risks of missile attacks and cyber threats, the National Bank made the unprecedented decision to allow data migration abroad. This gave us the green light to move swiftly to cloud-based systems, ensuring the security and continuity of our banking services.”
This decision was crucial. As cyberattacks and infrastructure damage increased, cloud-based banking ensured that Ukraine’s financial system remained intact. The transition to cloud services was a fundamental necessity to safeguard the financial system against the escalating threats of war.
I clearly remember the day a missile landed near our data center in Dnipro. That was when we realized, 18.5 million customers could lose access to their money in an instant. We had to act fast.
Dmytro Musiienko Board Member and Chief Retail Business Officer at PrivatBank
Cyber Warfare and the Battle to Keep Ukraine’s Banks Online
Beyond physical destruction, Ukraine’s financial institutions faced a digital war. “A hybrid war is being waged against us,” said Oleksii Shaban. “In addition to military aggression, cyberattacks on financial infrastructure have surged.”
Cybersecurity became a top priority, and Ukraine’s banking sector adapted with speed and efficiency. Oschadbank took significant measures to strengthen its defenses against cyber threats. ‘We faced relentless DDoS attacks from the first days of the war,’ said Anton Tyutyun, Deputy CEO of Oschadbank. “To counter this, we implemented new security protocols, reinforced our network infrastructure, and ensured continuous monitoring. We could not afford any downtime.”
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks overwhelm systems with massive amounts of traffic, making services inaccessible. By reinforcing their cybersecurity measures, Oschadbank and other financial institutions managed to keep their systems operational despite the ongoing cyber warfare. Despite countless cyber threats, the country’s financial institutions have so far managed to defend their systems, proving that a well-prepared digital defense can be just as critical as physical infrastructure.
“We had a lot of attacks, but because of our early investment in cybersecurity, we were never taken offline,” said Elena Lukyanchuk. “From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, we knew cyber threats would escalate. We reinforced our defenses, ran constant monitoring, and worked closely with cybersecurity experts to ensure our systems remained resilient. It as much about protecting data as it was about maintaining trust and ensuring Ukrainians had uninterrupted access to their finances”
How War Forced Ukraine’s Payment Sector to Innovate Faster
In the midst of war, when traditional infrastructure came under attack, Ukraine’s financial sector had to find new ways to keep money flowing. Digital payments became a necessity. With power outages disrupting physical banking channels, many Ukrainians turned to mobile banking, QR payments, and contactless transactions to conduct their daily financial activities. The war became an unlikely accelerator for fintech adoption, pushing the country further into a cashless economy. For Monobank, the shift was dramatic.
War changes everything overnight, but people still need to buy food. Businesses still need to operate. The financial system had to work, no matter what.
Anatoliy Rogalskiy CMO of Monobank
The ‘Jar’ savings feature within the Monobank app, originally designed as a simple way for customers to put aside extra money, unexpectedly transformed into a powerful wartime crowdfunding tool. The feature allows users to round up transactions and save small amounts over time, but as the war escalated, Ukrainians found a new use for it, supporting those on the frontlines. “People started using Jars within the app to raise money for protective gear like helmets and bulletproof vests for their friends and family fighting on the frontlines,” said Anatoliy Rogalskiy, CMO of Monobank.
“Soon, it became a key tool for grassroots fundraising efforts. Entire communities came together to pool resources for those defending Ukraine.” Through this functionality, Monobank has helped raise over two billion euros in support of the resistance, showing how digital finance can be repurposed in times of crisis to directly aid national defense. Ukrainians quickly adapted, using the ‘Jar’ savings feature not only for personal finance but also to collect donations for protective gear, supplies, and assistance to those in need. Meanwhile, with internet connectivity and power becoming unpredictable, contactless payment solutions became critical.
Anton Tyutyun of Oschadbank explained how even large retailers adapted: “Even large retailers used Tap to Phone during blackouts because it worked when everything else failed.” The technology allowed merchants to turn their smartphones into payment terminals, ensuring transactions could still be processed without additional hardware. QR payments and alternative payment channels also saw a rapid increase in adoption. “The war forced businesses and consumers alike to be more flexible with how they pay,” said Evgeny Velikanov, General Manager of iPay. “We introduced alternative ways of making payments so that clients could continue to operate under difficult conditions.”
With card-based transactions remaining stable despite wartime disruptions, Ukraine’s financial sector proved its adaptability once again. The country had already been a leader in digital banking before the war, but the crisis cemented its reputation as one of the most innovative fintech ecosystems in the Europe.
The Fight to Keep Bank Employees and Customers Safe
As the war raged on, Ukraine’s financial institutions faced not only the challenge of keeping their systems operational but also ensuring the safety and well-being of their employees. Many bank workers lived in cities under constant bombardment, yet they continued their work to keep financial services running. Evacuating staff from hard-hit regions became a logistical challenge.
With roads damaged, checkpoints everywhere, and the ever-present risk of missile strikes, moving people to safety required careful coordination and bravery. For Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine, ensuring employee safety was a top priority. “At every border crossing, our employees were met by teams from our sister banks,” said Elena Lukyanchuk.
“They 35 had housing, financial support, and job security waiting for them.” In the first few days of the full-scale invasion, the bank arranged for hundreds of employees and their families to be relocated to safer regions within Ukraine and even abroad, ensuring continuity of operations while providing much-needed stability to their workforce.
Yet, not everyone had the option to leave. Many employees continued working in cities under siege, often from bomb shelters or underground locations. “Our contact center employees worked from shelters, taking calls and supporting customers even as air raid sirens rang above them,” Lukyanchuk recalled. “It was incredible to see their dedication.
They knew that people depended on them, so they adapted to the circumstances and kept going.” Evgeny Velikanov from iPay shared a similar story. “There were days when our team members had to work without electricity, relying on backup batteries and mobile networks just to keep payment systems operational,” he said. “No one knew if they would have to flee at a moment’s notice, but they still showed up every day, because they understood the importance of what we were doing.”
Beyond the immediate operational challenges, leadership played a crucial role in maintaining morale. Oschadbank’s Deputy CEO, Anton Tyutyun, believed that leaders had to be present, not just virtually, but physically. “I have gone to Kharkiv five times through the war,” he said. “I wanted my team to know that we were in this together. It was important for them to see that senior management was not sitting safely in another European country but was right there with them, facing the same realities.”
His visits sent a powerful message: resilience was not just about infrastructure or systems, but about people. By standing shoulder to shoulder with employees in one of the hardest-hit cities, Tyutyun reinforced the sense of unity and shared purpose that kept Ukraine’s financial institutions running.
Despite the unimaginable hardships, the collective effort of Ukraine’s banking employees ensured that financial services never stopped. Whether working from underground bunkers, relocating entire operations, or standing by their teams in war-torn regions, they demonstrated a level of resilience that went far beyond their job descriptions. Their commitment proved that Ukraine’s financial system was standing strong in the face of the invasion.
We have the biggest branch network in Ukraine, so we equipped 800 branches with independent power. Beyond banking, this was about survival.
Anton Tyutyun Oschadbank’s Deputy CEO
The Future of Ukraine’s Financial System
As Ukraine’s financial system continues to operate under the immense pressure of war, it continues to evolve. The urgency of wartime has accelerated innovation in ways that might have taken a decade under normal circumstances. Banks and fintech companies alike have adapted, learned, and pushed forward, not just to keep the economy running but to lay the foundation for the future.
The experience of the past two years has reinforced the necessity for digital-first banking. Many financial institutions are already preparing for a post-war reality where online banking, AI-driven risk assessment, and blockchain-based transactions become standard. PrivatBank, for example, is expanding its cloud-based operations, ensuring that even in peacetime, it remains resilient against any future crises. Monobank is looking to further integrate fintech solutions that support small businesses, helping to rebuild the country’s economy from the ground up. Oschadbank, having established itself as a critical pillar of Ukraine’s financial stability, is enhancing its cybersecurity measures and reinforcing its infrastructure to withstand potential future threats.
For Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine, innovation remains a top priority. “We’re not have collaborated with regulators, and international partners have stepped in just focused on maintaining operations; we’re looking at what’s next,” said Elena Lukyanchuk. “The lessons we’ve learned in resilience, security, and customer service will define the next generation of banking in Ukraine and beyond.” The circumstances of war have forced the entire financial sector to operate with a sense of urgency that cannot be ignored.
Decisions that might have taken years were made in days, and new systems that would have required extensive piloting were implemented in weeks. The war, in its brutality, has forged a financial system that is faster, stronger, and more agile than ever before. But beyond the technological advancements, the true strength of Ukraine’s financial sector lies in its people. The resilience, hope, and unity that have emerged from these difficult times have transcended individual institutions. Employees from competing banks have worked together, fintech firms to provide support.
The war has erased traditional boundaries, proving that in times of crisis, solidarity is more powerful than competition. This unity is not just limited to Ukraine. The support of the global fintech and banking community has been instrumental in keeping the system afloat. Countries across Europe, particularly in the Nordic region, have played a key role in ensuring that Ukraine’s financial sector remains stable. “All of Ukraine, not only bankers are very grateful for your support, for your trust and for your permanent belief in our victory” concludes PrivateBank’s Dmytro Musiienko. Far beyond a national success story, Ukraine’s financial system has become a global example of resilience, innovation, and an untameable spirit of perseverance.
All of Ukraine, not only bankers are very grateful for your support, for your trust and for your permanent belief in our victory
Dmytro Musiienko Board Member and Chief Retail Business Officer at PrivatBank