Mobile carriers to start blocking unlabeled calls from seven banks on October 15

From October 15, 2026, Russian carriers will stop connecting unlabeled calls from seven major banks: VTB, Gazprombank, Renaissance Credit, Sberbank, Sovcombank, Alfa-Bank and T-Bank. The financial institutions themselves warned of the restrictions in letters, Kommersant reports. The reason, as the source describes it, is that the banks have declined to label their incoming calls. Three days remain until the deadline as of the publication date.

What is known so far

There are few facts so far, and it is important not to speculate. The date, the list of banks and the mechanism itself are publicly confirmed: carriers will not connect calls that lack labeling. The details remain unclear: which types of calls will be blocked, whether there will be a transition period, and whether any individual numbers will be exempt.

• Date the restrictions take effect: October 15, 2026.
• Number of banks on the list: 7.
• Banks on the list: VTB, Gazprombank, Renaissance Credit, Sberbank, Sovcombank, Alfa-Bank, T-Bank.
• The measure: carriers will not connect calls without labeling.
• Source of the information: the banks' letters, as reported by Kommersant.
• The official position of the banks and carriers is not disclosed in the available text.

Why call labeling matters

Call labeling solves a specific problem: the subscriber sees on the screen who is calling and can tell a genuine bank call center from a fraudster who has spoofed the number. Phone fraud remains one of the biggest problems for the financial sector, and AI-based voice cloning makes such attacks more convincing. That is why regulators and carriers are pressing high-volume callers: if an organization does not verify itself as the sender, its call is hard to tell apart from a suspicious one.

The available text does not make clear why the banks have not enabled labeling. Technical and organizational reasons are plausible: large players run dozens of numbers and several call-center contractors, and integrating with each carrier takes time and money. But that is a hypothesis, not a confirmed fact. If the banks confirm they have enabled labeling before October 15, the blocking may not happen at all.

What customers and banks should do

For customers, the main risk is that an important call from the bank, for example about a suspicious transaction or an overdue payment, simply will not get through. The reverse also holds: if someone who claims to be an employee of one of the seven banks calls you and the call still comes through without a label, that is all the more reason to be wary. After October 15, such a call should become a rarity.

Practical steps for the coming days:

• Check in the bank's app that notifications and push messages are turned on. They do not depend on call labeling.
• Do not share SMS codes or card details over the phone, no matter who is calling.
• If in doubt, hang up and call back at the number on the back of your card.
• If you are a customer of one of the seven banks and are expecting an important call, check in the app or on the website beforehand to see how the bank will contact you.

For the banks themselves, the stakes are reputation and cost. Losing the ability to reach customers by phone hurts service and debt-collection operations, and setting up labeling usually costs less than dealing with the consequences of blocking. The outcome will come within days: either the banks enable labeling and the restrictions do not affect customers, or from October 15 the market gets its first major precedent of mass call blocking against systemically important players.