Chinese banks blocking Russian payments

"We unfortunately do not see any improvement in the market for mutual settlements. We are receiving reports from China that regional banks are also starting to block payments from Russia," Vlastopulo said, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Statistics from the Federal Reserve reveal a 10% decline in the value of imports for the first half of the year. Vlastopulo noted that in physical terms, the decline is at least 15%. Additionally, purchases from Europe have sharply decreased by 25% year-on-year.

The issue of payments with Türkiye remains unresolved as well, according to Moscow-based entrepreneur Boris.

"The situation has not changed in any way. Payments continue to be blocked, and there is a trend toward further deterioration," he stated.

The impact of the West's sanctions just seems to be getting worse and worse for Russia.

Now, 98% of Chinese banks — even small regional ones — are refusing to accept direct Chinese payment transfers from Russia, Alexey Razumovsky, the commercial director of payments company Impaya Rus said.

Such issues appear to have intensified over the last three weeks, because smaller Chinese financial companies were still processing Russian payments in May and June, per Izvestia.

This comes on the back of recent news that about 80% of bank transfers made in the Chinese yuan were bouncing back with no explanation after being stalled for weeks, while banks decide whether they could transact.

Razumovsky said the payment challenges with Chinese banks could contribute to supply chain difficulties and inflation in Russia.