Foreign currency transfers from Russia fell by almost half in 2023

In 2023, the volume of foreign currency transfers from individuals from RUSSIA decreased by 48.8%, and the volume of ruble cross-border transfers increased by more than a quarter. The main purposes of operations are transfers of own funds and payment for goods

At the end of 2023, the volume of foreign currency transfers from Russia made by individuals decreased by almost half compared to the results of 2022 - to $27.8 billion. At the same time, cross-border transfers of individuals in rubles increased by 25.8% over the year. — up to 1.2 trillion rubles. This is stated in the Bank of Russia’s review of financial market risks.

How to transfer currency from Russia

The volume of net foreign currency transfers from Russia has been growing since the beginning of 2022 and reached its peak in the fourth quarter of 2022: then $20.4 billion were transferred in October-December. In total, at the end of 2022, the total volume of cross-border transfers of individuals in foreign currency amounted to $54, 3 billion. A sharp decline in the volume of foreign currency remittances began in the first quarter of 2023 (then the volume of transfers amounted to $11.1 billion), then it decreased.

According to the Central Bank, the main purposes of transactions in the fourth quarter were transfers of own funds and transfers between close relatives (the share of this direction was 62%). Another 14% of transfers were made as payments for goods, the remaining 24% were other transfers.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the volume of foreign exchange cross-border net transfers of individuals amounted to $14.7 billion. Of these, 46.3% of transactions were made in US dollars , 26.7% in euros, 7.4% in yuan, 7. 2% in yen and 12.4% in other currencies. The share of friendly countries in the structure of foreign exchange transfers in the fourth quarter of 2023 amounted to 63.8%, decreasing by 4.5 percentage points compared to the third quarter, and by 3.2 percentage points over the year. For comparison, in the third quarter the share of friendly countries was 68.3%, in the second quarter - 61.9%, in the first quarter - 60.1%, and in the fourth quarter of 2022 - 67%.

How to transfer rubles from Russia

The volume of cross-border net money transfers from individuals in rubles, on the contrary, increased at the end of the year. The main purposes of such transfers in 2023 were transfers of own funds and transfers between close relatives, their share amounted to 89.1%. Another 3.7% of transfers were made for the purpose of payments for goods, 3.1% - attracted loans and credits. “In general, ruble transfers from individuals are associated primarily with imports and payments by Russians for foreign purchases. However, part of the transferred funds can be used to make foreign investments, including in financial instruments,” the Central Bank notes.

RBC Pro development program Master 52 skills in a year The development program is a convenient tool for continuously learning new skills for a successful career Victim of perfectionism: why you shouldn’t try to do everything perfectly Think like Jeff Bezos . What algorithms do successful businessmen use? Why are you so scared to delegate. Explains The Economist There is no point in making a superproduct for months: 6 rules of the founder of “Vkusvill” How to make a plan so as not to abandon what you started halfway: 6 steps Why challenges paralyze some managers and motivate others How to cope with severe anxiety in 2 minutes Are you tired of living according to someone else’s scenario? How to rewrite these settings yourself Case “Norbit”: how we give feedback to colleagues using dice Make a breakthrough in your career: start listening to your body Does not give advice and is indifferent to prestige: 3 types of magnet leaders If you are tired, downshifting is not an option . How to save your career

The share of transfers to friendly countries in the fourth quarter of 2023 amounted to 74.6%. It decreased by 6.9 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2023, but grew by 21.3 percentage points over the year. At the same time, in the first quarter of 2023, the share of ruble transfers to unfriendly countries prevailed - 65.4%.

How are the terms of money transfers changing?

Currently, individuals are subject to restrictions on money transfers abroad established by the Central Bank in 2022 - no more than $10 thousand per month or the equivalent of this amount in another currency. In 2022, clients of Russian banks began to experience other difficulties when making cross-border transfers after Western countries introduced large-scale sanctions against the Russian financial system due to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine .

First, a number of large banks are disconnected from the SWIFT financial messaging system, making foreign exchange transactions difficult. Secondly, regardless of SWIFT, transfers in dollars or euros become unavailable to sanctioned banks. Thirdly, since the spring of 2022, foreign credit institutions began to cut off correspondent accounts of Russian banks, regardless of their presence on sanctions lists, or increased verification of transfers from Russia. As a result, large banks began to look for alternative ways to conduct cross-border transfers, replacing dollars and euros with rubles and currencies of friendly countries.