Russian banks are increasingly using third-party contractors to make marketing calls, resulting in misleading caller ID labels. Instead of the bank's name, users often see labels for IT companies or marketing agencies. This practice allows banks to bypass the mandatory call labeling law that has been in effect since September 1, 2025.
Telecom operators, including Beeline, MTS, T2, and MegaFon, confirmed the trend of banks shifting calls to intermediaries. MegaFon stated that such discrepancies in labeling could lead to the complete blocking of these calls. Operators have the authority to impose sanctions on organizations that provide false information about the caller's identity.
The Ministry of Digital Development requested that operators postpone the planned October 15, 2026, deadline for blocking unlabelled bank calls until early November 2026. The ministry aims to use this additional time to resolve outstanding issues and ensure that critical client communications remain uninterrupted.
Major financial institutions, including Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank, PSB, Sovcombank, and T-Bank, declined to comment on the situation. OTP Bank, however, stated that it works with external call centers but ensures that all calls are correctly labeled with the bank's name and the category 'Finance'.
