Persons in colonies and pre-trial detention centers can make purchases in stores located on the territories of FSIN institutions. However, in order to buy something, they must first receive money.
It is not always possible to earn money - and therefore most often they manage those funds that were sent “from the outside” by relatives. Therefore, we will figure out how to correctly send money to a prisoner, what exactly and in what amount he can control - and what to do if the transfer was made incorrectly.
Features of transferring funds to the account of a convicted person
Despite imprisonment for the crime committed, the prisoner still has the right to receive money from relatives and friends, and it does not matter for what purpose the funds are transferred to him or what they will be spent on.
As a rule, a citizen behind bars has the right to purchase food and essential products for them. But since it is impossible to cash out money in a prison or colony, it will be debited from your personal account. In order not to go to the prisoner, you can use the Sberbank Online system to transfer money to him, while there is also a FSIN system that allows you to top up the prisoner’s account after registration. It became possible to top up a prisoner's account back in 2006, with transaction transparency ensured through receipt notifications that confirm the successful receipt of money.
In addition, convicts also have the right to transfer money to their relatives or children if they have their own funds. Since most correctional institutions require work shifts for which wages are accrued, a person can send some money to his family even while behind bars. Those in prison will not need a large amount of money, because the FSIN system has established restrictions on the level of spending that is allowed for those in isolation.
Possible problems and their solutions
The main problem that may arise for the person transferring money is the incorrectness of the recipient's information. If at the time of crediting the funds a transfer was made to another institution. The money is returned to the sender and, based on new known data, a deduction is also made. The commission in such a situation is not returned, since the service still attempts to transfer funds.
Thus, today there are a sufficient number of ways to transfer money from a convicted person. Thanks to the modernization of the penal system, new legal methods of transfers are emerging. Since 2006, reverse transfers from the colony have been possible, which makes it possible to ensure compliance with the legitimate rights and interests of those who have broken the law.
Where can I get account details?
Some FSIN institutions, for example, pre-trial detention centers or colonies, have details that are already entered into the Sberbank database, and you can find them in the payments menu using the search.
The situation is worse with those institutions that are located in remote corners of the country, but even they have their own details that anyone can find out. To do this, you need to visit the institution and copy down the necessary data; alternatively, you can call the place of deprivation of liberty and remotely obtain the data of interest. READ The procedure for transferring funds from Turkey to Russia to a Sberbank card
Some correctional institutions have their own websites, which, in addition to general information, contain details, but you must also find out the prisoner’s personal account in advance. It is assigned to him upon admission to a colony or pre-trial detention center, but will only be valid if he is still in the institution and has not left for another place.
How to transfer money to a convicted person
To transfer funds to a citizen who is in a correctional institution, you need to go to the FSIN Money service website: https://fsin-money.ru. After this, a small form will appear on the page that you will need to fill out. Here's what you'll need to do to fill it out:
- go to the “Send money” tab:
- select from the list available on the website the region in which the correctional institution to which funds need to be transferred is located;
- choose the correctional institution itself;
- enter information about the recipient in the fields located just below (you must indicate his full name);
- indicate the recipient's year of birth:
- indicate whether the sender is a citizen of the Russian Federation by checking the appropriate box;
- provide detailed information about the sender of the money (last name, first name and patronymic, passport details, cell phone number, registration address and email address);
- if you want to save the transfer data, you need to check the “Save my data” box;
- enter the transfer amount and check the box “I have read the terms of use of the service and accept them”:
After this, the “Send transfer” button will appear, click on this button:
The next page of the service will display brief information about the transfer. Please check this information before making payment. If all information about the transfer is correct, click the “Pay transfer” button:
After completing all these steps, the user will be redirected to the payment system of PJSC Promsvyazbank, since it is he who is the intermediary in making transfers to prisoners using the FSIN Money.
On the next sheet you need to indicate information about the bank card from which the money for the transfer will be debited and click the “pay” button:
Instructions for transferring money to a convicted person through Sberbank Online
Transferring money to a convicted person’s personal account through Sberbank Online is quite simple; for this you need to follow the same instructions as for standard transfers. First of all, you need to register in the system and top up your card account from which money will be sent. Next in banking, the client enters the payments and transfers section, where there is an item that allows you to transfer money to the organization.
Usually transfers go through the Zonatelecom system, this is indicated in the “Recipient” column. Next, the person selects a payment method in the form of a card with funds on it, and enters the personal account of the person who should receive the money. The details should be checked to avoid errors, only after that you can confirm the actions with the code sent in the SMS message.
In addition to the convicted person’s account, the note to the payment also indicates his full name and date of birth, because in case of an error, the purpose of the payment will be determined based on them. The money goes to a general account, and only after that is distributed to separate accounts intended for specific prisoners. Funds will be transferred in a matter of minutes, and the status of the transaction can be tracked online in the list of transactions.
How to register
To create your account on the Zonadengi website you need to:
- click on “Registration in the system”;
- fill out the fields of the registration form that opens;
- click “Register”;
- go to your email inbox;
- open a letter sent from the site;
- Click on the link inside.
Knowing now how to transfer money to a prisoner for a prison kiosk or store, you can very quickly provide financial assistance at any time to support a loved one.
Commission and restrictions
At the moment, it is only possible to transfer money to a convicted person in a colony in rubles, even if there is foreign currency in the account. In this case, it will need to be converted into government money and only then sent. According to the law, it can be understood that no more than 40,000 rubles can be transferred to a convicted person per month; it is believed that this can be enough for the daily needs of any prisoner.
Sberbank limits the amounts sent to a minimum of 500 rubles and up to 15,000 rubles (maximum). You can send just that much at a time, but no one forbids creating several transactions at once in order to send the entire monthly amount at once. The commission for transfer to prison will be 5-7% of the amount, depending on the payment system with which the institution where the sentence is being served works. Despite the development of Internet technologies, payments to the FSIN system are received immediately, but are distributed after a certain time.
Important! As a rule, it may take up to a week for the convicted person to receive the money, but immediately after receiving the funds the sender will receive a notification. Problems can only arise if the client indicated incorrect details of the institution or made a mistake in the prisoner’s personal account. Then the transaction simply will not go through, and if an error is detected, the payment will need to be recalled.
Terms of service
Here are the basic rules that apply when using the FSIN Money service.
- A commission is charged for providing the service. Its value is 3.9% of the total transfer amount, but not less than 70 rubles. In other words, when transferring a small amount of money, you will have to pay 70 rubles as a commission, even if this is more than 3.9% of the total transfer amount.
- There is no minimum transfer amount established. Using the system, you can transfer money to a convicted person in any amount.
- The maximum amount of funds that can be transferred to one convicted person and the frequency of their sending are also not limited. You can send as much money to a correctional facility as you like at any frequency. However, there are limits on receiving money in the pre-trial detention center or correctional institution itself.
Our recommendation is that before sending, we advise you to check with the recipient about the maximum amount that the recipient can receive.
- Payment for transfer to the FSIN Money can be made using popular bank cards. In particular, the system works with Visa, MasterCard and MIR cards. All types of these cards can be used. It is important that they have a CVV code: without it, you will not be able to transfer funds.
Summing up
The law allows you to send money to convicted citizens for their immediate needs, and in order not to come personally to places of detention, you can use online systems for transferring amounts. To do this, each prisoner is assigned a personal account, and after being sent to the place of serving his sentence, the money is distributed to his account, and the person can purchase food or basic necessities with it.
READ Features of transferring funds from a Troika card to a Sberbank card
On the one hand, this allows us to avoid the spread of thieves’ laws, since the usual “common fund” no longer exists. At the same time, by receiving money, those deprived of their freedom can provide for a normal lifestyle and their own needs, however, there are restrictions on this. If you try to send more than 40,000 rubles a month to one prisoner, the payment will not go through, since they cannot spend more than this amount during such a period.
At the same time, there is feedback, and prisoners can send funds to their families or any people; in the first case, there is no need to explain the reason; in the second, you need to obtain permission from the head of the correctional institution, but there is no need to enter into additional agreements.
How to purchase a Zonatelecom card
This card can be purchased by both the convicted person and another person who is free. If you want to purchase it for a person serving a sentence, then you need to go to the Zonatelecom website, the purchase is made there. But first, find out whether the desired colony has the ability to communicate through this card, and whether there are payphones on its territory. During the purchase, you can immediately top up your Zonatelecom card.
Purchasing process:
- Visit the website, select the purchase section on the main page.
- A form will open in which you need to enter information about the buyer. You enter your full name, email address and phone number, and here you choose how much you want to deposit into your card account.
- Agree to the terms of card purchase and make payment.
- After the purchase, a letter is sent to the specified email within 30 minutes indicating the PIN code and card number.
The card purchased this way will be virtual. The convict needs to be given a PIN code and card number so that he can use this product; the plastic itself is not needed.
Before topping up your Zone Telecom account and purchasing a card, it is recommended to call the support service and find out all the conditions for using the product in the institution where the convicted person is located. Also note that you need to write your own data in the form, and not the person who will actually use the service.
In some institutions, the purchased card must be additionally registered with the administration - be sure to check this information with the support service; calls cannot be made from unregistered cards.
The convicted person can also purchase a card for communication with loved ones at the administration of the institution where he is staying, or at a local store. Anyone can also top up their Zonatelecom account via the Internet, anywhere.
Legal provisions
First, it is necessary to clarify that, according to established legislative norms (in accordance with Order of the Ministry of Justice No. 189), it is established:
that initially, upon admission to the pre-trial detention center, the money belonging to him, voluntarily surrendered for storage by the suspect or accused, is credited to his personal account. He can use it at his own discretion, and the money confiscated from him while in the pre-trial detention center is credited to his personal account without the right to use it.
This must be taken into account. And also, if the addressee (prisoner) did not previously have a personal account, then the accounting department of the institution will open one, and the recipient will be notified about this, accordingly.
