Experts explained the decrease in the volume of cash in circulation by deposit rates

In Russia, the volume of cash in circulation has decreased significantly. From January to April 2025, the indicator fell by 1.08 trillion rubles, to 17.4 trillion, according to statistics from the Central Bank. This is a record decrease since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine. Then, from March to June 2022, the volume dropped by 1.8 trillion rubles after a sharp increase.

Three years will wait: irrevocable deposits in the Russian Federation will begin to insure up to 2.8 million

Why did they decide to resume work on attracting "long money" right now, and what does the deposit freeze have to do with it?

The current reduction in the volume of cash in circulation differs from the seasonal dynamics of previous years, the press service of the Bank of Russia confirmed to Izvestia. They explained that this is due to attractive interest rates on deposits, which increase the population's propensity to save. The yield on deposits exceeds both actual inflation and expectations for price increases, the Central Bank stressed.

At the peak of the rates, the maximum yield on deposits reached 24%, and on individual offers — up to 30%, the VTB press service reported. They added: now you can deposit money at 20%.

The annual increase in ruble deposits of the population amounted to 30%, the Central Bank said. At the beginning of 2025, the volume of deposits of Russians reached 39.5 trillion rubles, said Kristina Aksenova, head of the department for the development of digital channels and bank cards at BBR Bank. Over the past year, it has grown by almost 11 trillion.

At the same time, since the beginning of 2025, the amount of citizens' funds in banks has increased by about 1.5-2 trillion (they are growing not only due to cash, but also due, for example, to salaries), added Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. According to him, this is also due to the attempts of the population to protect their savings from high inflation.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Cash cleared: cash volume in 2025 dropped to a record in three years