Russians Are Withdrawing Cash From Banks At A Rate Of 13 Billion Rubles A Day
- 1.07.2026, 20:08
Funds have been flowing out for the fifth consecutive month.
For the fifth consecutive month, the Russian banking system has been facing an outflow of funds into cash.
According to "Interfax" citing data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the amount of cash in circulation increased by another 449.7 billion rubles in June. Compared to May, the rate of growth in cash in the economy increased by 18%: in May, the amount of cash in circulation had risen by 386.2 billion rubles.
Cumulatively, from February through June, the volume of cash grew by 1.903 trillion rubles. On average, Russians and businesses withdrew 380.7 billion rubles in cash each month, or 12.6 billion rubles per day. The Central Bank recorded this year’s record outflow—607.3 billion rubles—in April, according to The Moscow Times.
It can be said that a steady trend toward cashing out savings has taken shape, notes Yuri Belikov, managing director of Expert RA . Businesses are moving into the gray market due to rising taxes, and people are trying to stockpile paper currency in case of internet outages, he explains.
The increase in cash in circulation is a “very alarming development,” complained Sberbank Deputy Chairman of the Board Taras Skvortsov at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June. According to him, cash withdrawn from the banking system is not returning to circulation. “We are not seeing growth in cash collection or in deposits made through self-service devices, ATMs, or terminals into the banking system. In other words, cash is currently remaining in the hands of the public,” Skvortsov said.
According to the Central Bank, as of May 1, 17.7 trillion rubles in savings were held in “cash”—a record amount in history. Russian citizens held 88% of the cash money supply—which the Central Bank estimated at 20.09 trillion rubles as of the end of April—"under their mattresses" and in bank safety deposit boxes.
Russians are flocking to cash due to growing uncertainty—both geopolitical and macroeconomic—explains Natalia Milchakova, an analyst at Freedom Finance Global: Public anxiety is rising due to drone attacks and the lack of prospects for a swift end to the war.
A mass rush of customers to banks to withdraw money from deposits early in the current situation could be the only reason for freezing people’s funds in deposits, says investment banker Evgeny Kogan. However, he emphasizes that there is currently no mass run on deposits, and rumors of deposits being frozen have no basis in reality: “Such a move would deal a massive blow to the financial system without solving any of the state’s real problems.”