Banks in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan sharply raise fees for cash ruble deposits

Banks in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have sharply increased the fees they charge non-resident clients for depositing cash Russian rubles into their accounts, according to a report by the Russian business outlet RBC.

The outlet’s review of bank websites found that at the beginning of the summer the fee for such transactions typically ranged between 2% and 5% of the deposited amount. Since then, several banks have raised the fee to between 10% and 15%. One Belarusian lender, Neo Bank Asia, has set a flat rate of 20%.

RBC said at least ten banks have tightened their terms since the beginning of August. The charges first appeared in June, when financial institutions in these countries saw a sharp influx of cash rubles from Russia. The practice of charging for such deposits had not been widely reported before that, according to the outlet.

A source at one of the Belarusian banks told RBC that the surge in cash flowing from Russia into other members of the Eurasian Economic Union is connected to stricter controls on cash transactions inside Russia. The source did not elaborate.

The higher fees apply specifically to deposits made by nonresidents, meaning that foreign individuals and businesses now face considerably higher costs when handling physical rubles in these countries. RBC’s report does not name all the banks that have adjusted their tariffs, but it indicates that the trend is widespread across Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.