Banks have practically stopped accepting currency through ATMs: “This is only the first step”

Almost all leading Russian banks have stopped accepting dollars and euros through ATMs. The fact is that these operations, due to Western sanctions against the domestic financial sector, have largely lost their meaning and become unprofitable. Banks cannot carry out operations in “toxic” currencies, correspondent accounts abroad are frozen. Meanwhile, independent experts believe that the reason for the gradual refusal of financial and credit organizations to accept dollars and euros lies not only in the consequences of international restrictions. Perhaps the “demarche” of ATMs is only the first step, then banks will stop crediting dollars and euros to customer accounts and in the branches themselves.

The largest Russian banks, both public and private, refuse to accept dollars and euros through ATMs. Now foreign currency can be deposited only in branches. Only two of the top 15 banks accept dollars and euros through ATMs, and one of them charges a 5% commission for such an operation. President of the Association of Russian Banks (ARB) Garegin Tosunyan stressed that “this is all inexpedient from an economic point of view, from the point of view of payback.”

In general, it is not profitable for Russian banks – especially those that have fallen under sanctions – to accept dollars and euros now, says private investor and financial analyst Fedor Sidorov. Those who did not fall under the sanctions can still do this on all the same conditions as before – but they do not want to. “They are reinsuring themselves so as not to fall under these same sanctions. And in general, the operations of Russians with dollars and euros now have a toxic background – therefore, banks prefer not to get involved, ”explains the expert.

Meanwhile, Alfa-Forex CEO Guzel Protsenko believes that the de-dollarization course has not been done here, so banks, if there is a need for foreign currency, then only in yuan.

“Russian banks are gradually reducing not only a number of currency transactions (for example, depositing through ATMs), but also removing other instruments (currency deposits can not be opened everywhere, and a commission is charged on such deposits), says Ivan Samoylenko, managing partner of B&C Agency. “These are the inevitable steps of the domestic financial system to reduce the impact of foreign currencies on the stability of banks.”

“It becomes unprofitable for banks to accept currencies of foreign countries both from the point of view of profitability of operations and from the standpoint of risk management” – this explanation is illogical, since banks continue to accept both dollars and euros through cash desks, emphasizes Maxim Osadchiy, head of the analytical department of the BKF bank. According to the interlocutor of “MK”, ​​the main reason for the refusal is that the structure of demand for cash currency has changed on the market. Customers, primarily wholesalers, have become more fastidious and choosy (for example, they ask for new banknotes).

“One of the reasons for this change in demand is that due to sanctions, imports have become largely cash-based, and wholesalers need a new currency,” he said. – Another reason for the “finicky” of customers is that the market is “full” of cash currency. “Under the pillows” of the Russians, foreign currency has accumulated in the amount of $96.8 billion ($12.5 billion more than it was before the start of the special operation).”

As a result, according to the expert, bankers set different prices for banknotes of different types and different degrees of “wear”. Meanwhile, ATM software is mostly from unfriendly countries, it is not configured to distinguish between varieties of dollars and the degree of “freshness” of bills.

“Of course, you can change the software, but because of the sanctions, such a change has become problematic. Therefore, customers “feed” slow bills to ATMs. In order to stop deliberately unprofitable transactions, the bankers were forced to refuse to accept dollars and euros through ATMs,” Osadchy is convinced.

At the same time, this situation, of course, is not in favor of consumers – those people who, for example, need to transfer payments for student education and treatment abroad.

“Someone wants to sell currency by depositing it through a convenient ATM near the house. It’s getting more and more difficult to do this,” says Mark Goykhman, an analyst at Capital Skills Financial Academy. – But it is quite possible to make such operations in a bank branch, through a cash desk. This is probably less convenient than using an ATM. Since it will be associated with the need to visit the bank office, as a rule, with additional commissions when depositing.

At the same time, according to Anastasia Chumak, a specialist at the law firm Intercessia, “maybe ATMs are only the first step, then banks will stop crediting dollars and euros to customer accounts at the branch.”