During the past 2022, residents of the Russian Federation withdrew more than $23 billion to Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan through money transfer systems. The amount of funds withdrawn is a record amount for every state since the years countries began keeping relevant statistics.
RBC studied the statistics of transfers through the Unistream, Contact, Zolotaya Korona, etc. systems, as well as through the banking infrastructure. Give the following numbers:
- 357 billion tenge ($775.4 million) went to Kazakhstan, 6.8 times more than in 2021 and a record since 2014.
- About $2 billion went to Georgia, which is 5 times more than in 2021 and a record since 2012,
- $14.5 billion went to Uzbekistan, which is 2.6 times more than in 2021,
- $3.1 billion went to Armenia (11-month data), which is 4 times more than in 2021 and a record since 2004,
- Kyrgyzstan received $2.6 billion (11-month data), 6% more than in 2021 and a record since 2005.
The key reasons for this growth are clear: two waves of relocations (in the spring and fall of 2022), company relocations and “card tourism”.
Russians regularly travel for bank cards from neighboring states in order to pay for goods subject to sanctions and use Internet services that do not accept Russian cards.
However, experts emphasize that the funds withdrawn by migrants working in the Russian Federation also remained in the structure of remittances.
Author:
Ekaterina Alipova
Source: RB
I am Bret Jackson, a professional journalist and author for Gadget Onus, where I specialize in writing about the gaming industry. With over 6 years of experience in my field, I have built up an extensive portfolio that ranges from reviews to interviews with top figures within the industry. My work has been featured on various news sites, providing readers with insightful analysis regarding the current state of gaming culture.
