On its own: Russia is switching to settlements in its own currency
Russia has successfully minimized the use of unfriendly currencies. The share of the dollar and euro decreased both in international reserves and in payments. The ruble is becoming Russia's main foreign trade currency. The share of ruble payments for Russian imports rose to a record 53.5% in February. What we pay for in rubles and what advantages it gives to Russia and our trading partners is described in the Izvestia article.
Reached a record
The share of payments in Russian rubles when paying for imports of goods and services to the Russian Federation in February 2025 reached a new high of 53.5%, according to data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the currency structure of foreign trade settlements. The currencies of unfriendly countries accounted for only 17.2% and 29.3% of other currencies.
When paying for Russian imports from Asian countries, the share of ruble payments in February 2025 also updated the maximum: it reached 49.6%. In February, only 10.2% of Asian imports were paid in the currencies of unfriendly countries.
The share of ruble payments for imports from Latin American countries also turned out to be a record high (45.8%), while for the first time less than half (49.8%) of payments accounted for "toxic" currencies. And the share of payments in "toxic" currencies to African countries has updated to a minimum of 16.2%.
There are advantages
For the first time, more than half of the payments for imports to the Russian Federation were made in rubles in December 2024 — 50.8%. Payments in national currency under foreign economic contracts have a number of advantages, the main of which is the absence of losses on exchange differences and the reduction of the risk of blocking a payment by a foreign bank.
— Such payments are not tracked, which is especially important for companies that have been sanctioned, as well as for many others, given the wide range of products affected by the restrictions. In addition, importers save on conversion transactions and reduce the risks associated with currency fluctuations," says Irina Pykhtina, Senior Vice President of PJSC RosDorBank.
The key advantage of using the ruble to pay for imports for Russia is, first of all, the very possibility of making direct payments "as before", that is, without the need to include payment agents in calculations, additional conversions, commissions, etc. For foreign suppliers, receiving payment in rubles makes it possible to use or sell Russian currency to pay for exports from Russia on more favorable terms, explains Dmitry Svetlov, Managing partner of the PravoVED Center for Legal Support for Foreign Economic Activity.
Contract and payment
However, there is a downside: the ruble's low convertibility and high volatility. If the ruble strengthens, foreign suppliers face currency risks. Therefore, even when settlements are made in rubles, the contract price is often pegged to more stable currencies such as the yuan or dirhams in order to minimize possible losses.
Evgeny Novikov, an entrepreneur specializing in the import of goods from China, told Izvestia that over the past year he switched to using rubles as a means of payment due to the need to include payment agent companies in the chain that help overcome sanctions restrictions. Payments to them are made exclusively in rubles on the territory of the Russian Federation.
— But if we talk about rubles as the currency of the contract, then in the structure of my imports, which is more than 2 billion rubles a year, there is still not a single contract in rubles. The main reason is exchange rate risks," Novikov said.
According to Bloomberg, the Russian ruble has become the most dynamic currency in 2025. Since January, it has strengthened by 19% against the dollar in the over-the-counter market of the Russian Federation and by 38% in the international foreign exchange market.
— This is good news for those importers whose goods or services are denominated in some more stable currency (for example, in dirhams of the UAE, which are pegged to the dollar with a fixed exchange rate). In this case, even if the settlement currency is the Russian ruble, importers were able to save money and transfer a much smaller amount in rubles than they had planned. Of course, the opposite is also true," explains Maria Krasenkova, CEO of MOBY.Money."
As Dmitry Svetlov clarifies, in transactions within the EAEU and partly the CIS, the ruble is both the currency of the contract and the currency of payment. And when trading with other countries, the ruble is most often prescribed in the contract as one of the possible payment currencies to diversify payment options.
Thus, the inclusion of a wide range of payment currencies in the contract is almost an established trend.
What are the prospects
According to the Bank of Russia, Moscow pays in rubles mainly with countries in Europe, Asia, as well as the Caribbean and Oceania.
The sectors that form the basis of Russia's export structure are the leaders in the use of the ruble in foreign trade settlements: energy, the raw materials industry and agriculture. Experts consider the military industry, metallurgy and logistics to be other promising industries for the development of ruble settlements.
Western sanctions against Russia are expected to ease in the foreseeable future. However, experts do not expect a drastic change in the structure of foreign trade payments that has already been established in Russia.
According to Dmitry Svetlov, it is more likely to be a compromise option with a partial return to settlements in dollars and euros (primarily with the United States and EU countries, respectively), maintaining the leading role of the ruble in settlements in the post-Soviet space and partially strengthening its position in trade with Asian, Latin American and African countries.
Russian participants in foreign economic activity will retain a significant share of ruble settlements even with the improvement of the geopolitical situation, as they have appreciated the advantages of financial sovereignty, said Marcel Kirlan, associate professor at the Financial University, managing partner of the Analytica Research Center. Business. The right." At the same time, we can expect an increase in the share of the Chinese yuan and other currencies of friendly countries, forming a multipolar currency structure of Russia's foreign trade operations.
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