Transfers from Russia to neighboring countries fell in 2024

The volume of money transfers from Russia to neighboring countries continued to decline in 2024, according to statistics from the central banks of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, which RBC studied. The data includes money transfers through banking infrastructure and/or through the Zolotaya Korona, Unistream, and Contact money transfer systems. These data are more accessible than statistics from the central banks of other countries popular with Russians.

The volume of money transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan for the whole of 2024 amounted to $132.8 million, or 61.8 billion tenge (the Central Bank of Kazakhstan publishes data only in tenge, the average DOLLAR to tenge exchange rate for each month was used for calculations). In 2024, the indicator in dollars decreased by 44%, in tenge - by 43%. However, Russia remains the leader in the volume of money received by Kazakhstan among other countries. The Central Bank of Kazakhstan takes into account transactions through international money transfer systems, including Zolotaya Korona and others.

From Russia to Georgia, $541.2 million was also sent through money transfer systems in 2024, which is 65% less than the 2023 figure, when $1.5 billion was sent. In this direction, monthly figures also decreased throughout the year. But Russia remains in the top three countries in terms of transfers to Georgia - only the United States and Italy transfer more.

The volume of transfers from Russia to Armenia for 11 months of 2024 (latest data) decreased by 13%: $3.2 billion in January-November 2024 against $3.6 billion in January-November 2023. Unlike previous destinations, transfers to Armenia showed growth in July and August compared to the same months last year - by 44.2 and 14.7%, respectively. Russia is also the main country sending money transfers to Armenia. The Central Bank of Armenia takes into account transfers through the country's banking system.

An exception from neighboring countries is Kyrgyzstan, where the volume of money transfers increased by 12% over the year, to almost $2.6 billion. Kyrgyzstan differs from the above-mentioned countries by the significant number of labor migrants in Russia. Transfers from Russia account for almost the entire volume of transfers to the country from abroad. The Central Bank of Kyrgyzstan provides data on transactions carried out using money transfer systems, mobile banking applications and electronic wallets.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan has so far published only statistics for the first nine months of 2024. The volume of transfers from Russia to Azerbaijan for January-September last year fell by half, to $410.7 million. But even in this direction, most funds are transferred from Russia. The regulator does not specify the methodology for collecting statistics on money transfers, indicating only that these are transactions addressed to individuals.

In the spring of 2022, after the start of the military operation in Ukraine , international payment systems Visa and Mastercard left Russia - their cards issued by Russian banks stopped working abroad. Many banks in neighboring countries put forward the simplest conditions for opening cards, and money transfer systems became one of the most accessible and fastest ways to replenish foreign accounts. At the end of 2022, the central banks of these countries recorded an increase in money transfers from Russia, the volumes of which reached record levels. However, this trend changed in 2023.

After a sharp increase in 2022, the situation has stabilized, says Andrey Gusev, senior partner at Nordic Star law firm. The volume of transfers could also be affected by the weakening of the ruble, as well as the fading of the trend: those who planned to leave Russia and transfer funds have already done so.

"The initial growth in the volume of payments to neighboring countries increased due to the fact that after the introduction of sanctions against Russia, Russian citizens did not have the opportunity to make payments to foreign jurisdictions directly. In this regard, payments were made by Russian citizens through friendly jurisdictions. Subsequently, many banks from friendly jurisdictions, in particular Kazakhstan, tightened the rules for conducting banking transactions involving Russian individuals, as a result of which it became more difficult to transfer through previously friendly jurisdictions," adds Dmitry Chirkin, Managing Partner of White Stone.

Lawyers agree that, most likely, there will not be an endless decline in transfers to neighboring countries. Over time, the volumes may reach a new "average" value, says Gusev.

Kyrgyzstan stands out from the downward trend, according to lawyers, for several reasons. Gusev attributed to them the presence of a large number of labor migrants in Russia and a broader methodology for accounting for transactions. Chirkin says that in the current reality, the number of people who have received a Kyrgyz passport and live on its territory has increased significantly, due to which Kyrgyz banks are the most accessible and convenient for money transfers.