Remittance from Russia to overseas banks decrease

Remittances from Russia abroad through payment systems decreased by almost 17% over the year, amounting to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Report of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Money transfers to Russia for the year decreased to $632 million — also by about 17%. On average, they started to transfer $29 less at a time from Russia — in the first quarter of this year, an average of $216 was sent from the country using payment systems. The average money transfers to Russia, on the contrary, increased by an average from $22 to $383.

Cross-border remittances through Visa and Mastercard systems and through services such as Western Union have been suspended in Russia as part of the sanctions. Also, some Russian banks have been disconnected from the SWIFT international system.