Send Money To Russia

Ways to Send Money to Russia

Russia has been in the cross-hairs of geopolitical forces that have affected among other things the movement of funds in an out of the country. Thanks to technology, banks, financial institutions and peer to peer (P2P) money transfer service providers have made significant progress connecting Russians in the diaspora with their families back home.

Bank-to-Bank SWIFT Transfers

Diaspora Russians can transfer money to their families, friends and business partners back home through the SWIFT network. Interestingly, as from 2014, Russia started developing an alternative to the SWIFT mechanism to cushion itself against risks of sanctions that would affect the SWIFT network.

The System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) is now up and running offering a variety of services one of which is financial institution transfers. Over 18% of money transfers in Russia are going through the SPFS and as of November 1, 2019, over 390 participants had already enrolled in the system among them Asian banks.

Due to currency control processes, sending money through the banking system to Russia can be a nightmare. The law requires financial institutions to have a correspondent account with the Russian Central Bank for them to transfer funds to the country.

Because of these tough regulations, sending money through the bank can be expensive, result in cancellations, reversals and delays. Some of the top banks in Russia to consider when transferring money are Sberbank, VTB Bank, GazpromBank and Alfa Bank JSC.

When sending money to Russia from the UK, through Barclays Plc, you will be charged £0 for online banking, but there will be receiving fees of £13 for payments between £0 and £2,600. Payments over £10,000 are charged a receiving fee of £50. If you send money through the branch, you will be charged £25 or £40 if you are in priority banking. This excludes any recipient fees you may have to pay. Transfers can only be in GBP, EUR, USD.

Online Money Transfer Services

One alternative to banks when sending money to Russia is online money transfer providers. This category includes companies such as Azimo, WorldRemit, TransferGo, Wise, and OFX.

Once you sign up for a money transfer service, input the recipient details, the amount you want to send, and pay for your transfer, the provider will do the rest. Typically transfers can take up to 3 days depending on the payout option, but can be on the same business day. You can pay for your transfer using a credit card, debit card or bank transfer.

There are three payout methods you can opt for when transferring money through online transfer providers.

• Bank Deposit- Money is deposited into the recipient’s bank account. This can take anywhere between 1-3 days. Bank deposits are convenient when sending large transfers.
• Cash Pickup -Azimo and WorldRemit are some of the providers that allow you to transfer money to your family and friends in Russia through their agency network. The recipient collects the money in cash. Azimo has a total of 4,700 locations in Russia. Cash Pickups are best suited for small transfers.
• Airtime Top-Up-You can also send your friends and family the gift of talk time by reloading their phones directly through the online transfer platform. WorldRemit and Azimo are at the forefront in offering the direct mobile recharge service.

In-Store Cash Transfers

Money transfer operators such as Western Union and MoneyGram allow its customers to send money to Russia through direct to bank or cash pickup options. Western Union offers direct-to-bank transfers of up to 4,000.00 EUR and cash pickups of up to 5,000.00 EUR.

Western Union payout quote and receipt can be generated in both USD and Russian Ruble (RUB). The recipient can collect the money in either currency. MoneyGram transfers to Russia allow up to a maximum of 6000.00 GBP to a cash pickup location. Unlike Western Union, MoneyGram doesn’t have the direct-to-bank option when sending to Russia from the United Kingdom.

Paypal, Yandex and WebMoney

Sending to a recipient in Russia through Paypal, Yandex or WebMoney is another channel you can use to send money to your loved ones. All the above methods work in a similar manner where the money ends up in a virtual wallet from where you can withdraw to a local bank.

Yandex has over 18 million e-wallets, while WebMoney has more than 30 million registered users. Compared to the online money transfer providers, e-wallet solutions may add another layer of fees and exchange rate conversion margins. That being said, you can pay your bills right from the e-wallet without the need to withdraw the cash.

What is Needed to Send Money to Russia

When sending money to Russia, the information you’ll be asked to give will depend on the country you are sending from and the provider you choose. Typically, you will be required to give the following:

• A government issued-ID document to identify you as the sender.
• The recipient’s name as it appears on their Internal Russian passport or other acceptable legal documents
• The recipient’s physical address and their phone number
• If you are sending directly to a bank account, the recipient bank details (bank name, branch and account number). Ensure to include the beneficiary’s bank BIK code and the VO code of the currency transaction.
• The amount of money you want to send, the transfer payment option and payout methods