Ilya Vedmedenko19:14, 14.08.26

There is a surplus of Russian currency in banks of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries.

Kazakh, Belarusian and Kyrgyz banks have sharply increased fees for accepting cash rubles . The tightening of conditions has occurred in at least ten financial institutions, Russian media reports . 

Thus, from the end of July, the Belarusian Neo Bank Asia introduced a 20% commission for depositing cash in Russian rubles into the current accounts of individuals, in particular using payment cards. 

Among the Belarusian banks that have increased the commission for cash deposits by non-residents to 15% are MTBank, Belarusian Sberbank and VTB, BelVEB, Belarusbank, Technobank, and Zepter Bank. Previously, such operations in these institutions were subject to a commission of 2–5% of the deposited amount.

The situation is similar in Kazakhstan. 

CenterCredit Bank has doubled the commission for individuals depositing cash rubles through cash desks, terminals and ATMs into current and savings accounts – from 5% to 10%. Previously, Halyk Bank increased the commission for accepting cash rubles from citizens and non-residents to 15% (for businesses – to 10%).

Kyrgyz Ecoislamicbank also doubled its commission for depositing cash rubles by individuals “for making transfers via money transfer systems and SWIFT” – to 10%.

Banks in the EAEU countries began tightening the conditions for depositing cash rubles into accounts from June 2026.

In addition to these banks, several other financial institutions introduced fees for replenishing cards and accounts with Russian rubles in August. In particular, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan set the rate at 2.5% of the deposit amount, while the Belarusian Priorbank charges 5%. 

According to available data, banks in the EAEU countries are faced with a significant surplus of cash Russian rubles. 

Statistics from the National Bank of Kazakhstan show that in April, the country’s exchange offices purchased 6.5 billion rubles (about $77 million) worth 39.8 billion tenge. In May, the volume of such transactions decreased to 4.7 billion rubles (about $56 million), or about 30 billion tenge.

Experts say that the accumulation of cash rubles creates additional costs for banks to store, transport and verify them. At the same time, demand for Russian currency outside Russia remains limited, making handling such cash uneconomical for local financial institutions.

(C)UNIAN 2026