Home supplies: Russians accumulated a record 17.1 trillion rubles in cash in 2025.
According to the Central Bank, the amount of cash held by the population has reached an unprecedented level — 17.1 trillion rubles. This year, the amount of cash in rubles increased by 4.6%, while in 2024 the increase was almost imperceptible and amounted to only 0.1%. What is the reason for this trend, how stable it is, as well as how the growth of cash savings correlates with the dynamics of bank deposits and other financial instruments, is described in the Izvestia article.
Debiting funds
According to the macroeconomic forecast of the Bank of Russia, inflation is expected to slow down to 4.5–5.5% in 2026 against the background of a decrease in the average key rate to 13.5–14.5%, Sergey Grishunin, managing director of the NRA rating service, reminded Izvestia.
The savings rate will decrease to 6-8% of household income, while remaining above long-term values, he noted. The growth rate of deposits will slow down to 5-8% per year, while the volume of cash will increase by 3-4%. The key trend is a gradual shift from accumulation to consumption while maintaining increased demand for liquidity as a sustainable model of financial behavior.
The increase in savings is primarily due to changes that occurred in the second half of 2025: the profitability of bank deposits began to decline following a decrease in the key interest rate, Maxim Chirkov, associate professor at the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Economics, told Izvestia. As a result, the placement of funds on deposits has become less profitable for the population.
"An additional factor was the growth of citizens' incomes in 2024-2025, which expanded their financial capabilities," he said. — At the same time, money continues to accumulate both in and out of bank accounts, as people increasingly distribute funds between different forms of storage.
The increase in cash volume, in fact, reflects the desire to have part of the capital on hand for everyday or urgent expenses, while the main amount remains on deposits. Therefore, there is no contradiction in the simultaneous increase in deposits and cash — the total amount of savings of the population continues to grow. At the same time, investments in real estate are increasing. In particular, prices are rising, and citizens are actively investing in housing.
"This indicates a general increase in the level of well—being and the desire to use money both in non-cash form and in cash," the expert noted. — In the future, with the expansion of the use of the digital ruble, a significant part of savings may switch to this format.
In addition, according to him, the trend for cash may be related to preparations for large purchases. People withdraw funds previously earned from deposits to purchase cars or real estate.
Regional cross-section
The key factor in the changes was the reduction in the key interest rate, Evgenia Lazareva, project manager of the Popular Front for Borrowers' Rights, confirmed in an interview with Izvestia. As it decreased, banks reviewed the conditions for deposits and deposits, which led to a drop in their profitability. At the same time, anti-fraud mechanisms were tightened in 2025, which also affected customer behavior and the structure of savings storage.
"More careful attention to bank transfers and withdrawals of large amounts, the risk of erroneous blocking of transfers and sometimes accounts, periodic disconnections of mobile Internet and communications in general reduce the availability of own funds," she said. — Citizens prefer to have large sums on hand for an emergency.
If we talk about the distribution of funds between deposits and other instruments, then at the beginning of October 2025, bank deposits formed the bulk of the financial assets of Russian households — almost two-fifths of the total volume, the expert recalled. Investments in stocks and other forms of equity participation also accounted for a significant share, while cash accounted for just over one tenth of the asset structure. At the same time, the expansion of total savings occurred primarily due to the growth of the deposit component.
The updated data from the "Credit and savings activity Cards of Russian households" of the project "For Borrowers' Rights" confirm this trend. In the third quarter of 2025, the volume of household funds in bank accounts increased by 2.2% compared to the previous quarter, rising from 66.5 to 68.0 trillion rubles.
— It is noteworthy that both ruble and dollar deposits showed growth, the volume of which increased by 1.9% and 7.3%, respectively, — Evgeniya Lazareva emphasized. — Compared to the same period last year, the volume of deposits increased by an impressive 16.2%. At the same time, only ruble deposits showed growth in 12 months, which increased by 18.2%, while foreign currency deposits decreased by 13.1%.
If we compare the amount of savings with the level of income, then the maximum figures are recorded in the largest and economically developed regions. The highest proportion of the average deposit relative to the average income was recorded in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The group of leaders also includes the Kaliningrad Region, the Samara Region and the Chuvash Republic, where the savings rate significantly exceeds the national average.
Minimum deposit-income ratios are observed in a number of national republics. The lowest rates were recorded in Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya, where savings opportunities are significantly limited by current income levels.
"At the same time, the growth of ruble deposits against the background of a reduction in foreign currency savings reflects the transformation of the savings habits of the population," explained Evgenia Lazareva. — Households are increasingly choosing to keep funds in the currency in which they earn their earnings and which is more convenient for payments within the country, which strengthens the role of the ruble as the main instrument of accumulation.
Now people are trying to distribute capital between different instruments in order to reduce the vulnerability of personal finances, Andrei Zhukovsky, a leading researcher at the Institute of Regional Economics and Inter-Budgetary Relations at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. This behavior can be considered established: It is typical both for economically active citizens and for older age groups focused on the preservation of accumulated wealth.
"I consider this trend to be quite stable, which, I emphasize, will constantly correlate with foreign economic processes, monetary policy within the country and the state of the business climate in general," he said.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the Central Bank, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
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