Page 29 - RusRPTApr23

2.8 Russian schemes for transferring money abroad
Recent events in Russia have made it challenging to withdraw money from the country, reports The Bell.
The EU's latest round of sanctions saw popular banks like Tinkoff and Alfa-Bank on the blacklist, leading to their cards being no longer accepted by the Golden Crown payment system. Even the popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance banned Russian users from trading dollars and euros due to EU restrictions. This article explores the current methods of withdrawing money from Russia and which of these would be best suited for different needs.
Users also found several other ways such as to get virtual cards from Ozon or Yandex (both companies managed to acquire banking licenses because they had big plans for fintech, most of which are now unlikely to come true). To transfer, you will first need to send money to a virtual card, and then send it abroad using Zolotaya Korona (KoronaPay).
Payment systems, such as KoronaPay, are an effective method for transferring small amounts of money, but with their limited reach, they have their limitations. Despite this, the latest EU sanctions against Tinkoff and Alfa-Bank caused these banks' cards to be no longer accepted by the Golden Crown payment system. Unistream, however, continues to accept cards from sanctioned banks, and they can still send transfers using the Contact payment system owned by Qiwi.
Another method that can be used is SWIFT transfers, which are suitable for large transfers, but banks have raised the minimum amount required to use this method. Using SWIFT will require an account in a foreign bank, you can open one without any problems in Kazakhstan, Armenia or Georgia, but for an account in the EU countries you will need a residence permit or a long-term visa.
The Russian subsidiary of the Austrian Raiffeisenbank is the primary bank for such transfers, accounting for up to 50% of all payments between Russia and the rest of the world.
However, the Russian bank keeps changing the conditions for SWIFT transfers, and as of March 6, the minimum amount required for an outgoing transfer in foreign currency has risen to $10,000.
The transfer fee will be 2-3% of the transfer amount, but a minimum of $200 and a maximum of $300. For the purchase of currency in the bank will have to pay another 3%. You will also have to pay a commission of an intermediary bank, an average of $10–70. Finally, it is worth remembering that if you do not have time to quickly make a transfer and more than $10 thousand remain on your account, then you will also have to pay 0.5–1% monthly for their storage.
SWIFT-transfer can be made in other Russian banks. According to RBC estimates, about 40 organisations now offer such services. But there is a
29 RUSSIA Country Report Russia April 2023 www.intellinews.com