Russians Take Cash Out Of Banks En Masse
- 10.04.2026, 9:45
Because of the internet outage.
Constant Internet outages have forced Russians and businesses to return to cash. More and more of them are needed, and according to the Central Bank, the amount of cash in circulation increased by 0.3 trillion rubles in March after growing by 0.2 trillion rubles in February, writes The Moscow Times.
"Such dynamics, among other things, may be associated with cases of mobile Internet disconnection, which encourage households and businesses to form a reserve of cash to make current payments," the regulator explains.
The outflow of cash from banks is noticeably higher than the values of previous years, the Central Bank states. In the previous 10 years, cash, on the contrary, returned to banks in the first quarter (the exception - 2023). This year, Rb 0.1 trillion was taken from them in the first three months. In March, the outflow of liquidity from banks was formed mainly due to the growth of cash in circulation, the Central Bank states.
Regular blocking of mobile internet across Russia began in May 2025 under the pretext of fighting Ukrainian drones. At this time, only resources from the "white lists" approved by the authorities are available; more than 70 regions have introduced them. As a result, Russia became the world leader in the number of Internet shutdowns: according to Top10VPN calculations, their duration exceeded 37 thousand hours, they affected almost the entire population of the country, and the damage caused by them amounted to $11.9 billion last year, which is also the most in the world. The pressure is growing: recently Vladimir Putin obliged operators to disconnect any communication to Russians at the request of the FSB. RKS Global experts predict a complete transition of the country to an isolated Internet by 2028.
The absence of mobile communication makes cashless payment impossible and paralyzes the work of many services, for example, some ATMs are shut down. Having lost the opportunity to pay with a card or QR code, and also in case of need to withdraw money at any moment, one has to stock up on cash. Economist Egor Susin attributes the significant acceleration of cash growth in the economy in March to problems with the Internet and cashless payments.
But they don't always help, either. During the shutdowns in Moscow, stores in the central districts traded only for cash, but dairy products, soft drinks, and pet food could not be bought anyway: the "honest mark" check on them was set up on the mobile Internet, and they were not punched at the cash registers.
A noticeable part of small business is switching to cash to survive after the tax increase: from this year the VAT rate increased from 20% to 22%, and the minimum amount of annual revenue, after which it is necessary to pay VAT, was reduced from 60 to 20 million rubles. Someone, unable to withstand the fiscal burden, goes into the shadows, and someone simply saves money on acquiring - VAT has also been introduced on it since this year. Some services accept only cash, or offer bonuses for this method of payment.
Since the beginning of the year, half of Russians have been offered to pay in cash, according to the VTsIOM survey. Its experts state the "renaissance of the good old cash".