More than a third of Russians surveyed said they were ready to invest in the yuan

More than a third (36%) of the surveyed Russians said that they are ready to use the Chinese national currency as a means of savings. However, the majority of respondents (54%) prefer ruble deposits. This follows from the data of analysts of the financial marketplace "Vyberu.ru", which were reviewed by "Izvestia" on December 19.

At the same time, 16% of respondents have started to keep their savings in yuan: 8% have purchased the currency for up to Br15 thousand, while another 8% keep from Br15 thousand to Br50 thousand in yuan. At the same time, 20% of survey participants indicated that they have not yet kept money in yuan, but they consider this currency promising and consider buying it next year.

Experts also found out that every tenth compatriot prefers dollars and euros for currency savings, as they are easier to exchange abroad. Nevertheless, more than half of Russians (54%) still do not use yuan and other currencies as a means of accumulation, but keep their savings on ruble bank deposits.

Save not spend: Russians keep about 60 trillion rubles in deposits

The increase in the volume of savings is explained by the growth of financial literacy of the population

Last year, about 28% of respondents said that they were going to buy yuan, 22% had Chinese currency as a major part of their savings, but almost every fourth compatriot preferred the dollar. Analysts noted that the growth of Russians' interest in the yuan in 2024 has continued: the number of those who consider the Chinese currency for purchase increased by 8 percentage points year-on-year. However, against the background of rising interest rates on ruble bank deposits, only 16% of Russians started to keep their savings in yuan in 2024. Meanwhile, the dollar has noticeably lost its position: in 2024, 10% of Russians preferred the currency compared to 24% in 2023.

"Users' interest in the yuan in 2024 is due to both the general agenda of the financial market - after the sanctions and the suspension of the circulation of the dollar and the euro on the Moscow Exchange, Russians have become noticeably more active in taking an interest in the friendly currency - and in general, the growing awareness of compatriots about various instruments of savings," said Yaroslav Bajurak, executive director of the financial marketplace "Vyberu.ru".

According to him, this year the increased interest of the audience in deposits denominated in yuan was observed in the third quarter.

In early December, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation informed Izvestia that the total volume of bank deposits, deposits and other attracted funds of Russians reached Br59.3 trillion in early November, according to the data of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the share of citizens who kept their savings in cash at home over the past year decreased to 30%.