Russia’s Rosbank starts offering cross-border crypto payments despite nationwide ban
Rosbank, one of the most important financial institutions of the Russian Federation, is set to become the first major bank to offer cross-border transactions in cryptocurrencies. report From a Russian business magazine Vedomosti.
The bank stressed that these transactions strictly follow existing legal requirements, central bank guidelines and the bank’s own compliance policies.
Rosbank is working with Russian fintech service B-Crypto to provide technological solutions for customers to participate in cross-border digital currency transactions.
The process of paying a foreign supplier with cryptocurrency is not easy. In this process, Russian companies that choose to pay for imported goods or services in cryptocurrencies can do so after making arrangements with their suppliers and specifying the wallets from which the payments will be made. The supplier will then issue an invoice containing the cryptocurrency payment amount and the wallet address of the recipient.
Once the contract is concluded, the purchasing company will deposit the outstanding amount in fiat currency into the Rosbank account. Rosbank then transfers the funds to a third-party partner institution, B-Crypto, which uses the funds to purchase the desired cryptocurrencies from so-called “friendly countries” and transfers them to their suppliers.
Russia’s position on cryptocurrencies
The Kremlin’s stance on cryptocurrencies is not supportive, and Russia has banned the use of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange for goods and services since July last year.
The Bank of Russia has also banned the use of cryptocurrencies in the national economy, allowing the use of cryptocurrencies outside Russia’s infrastructure and in cross-border operations. There is currently no basis for digital currency trading in Russian law. The country’s Digital Financial Assets (DFA) law prohibits even private residents of Russia from accepting digital currencies as payment for goods and services.
Vedomosti The remaining top 50 Russian banks reportedly did not confirm similar offerings in response to inquiries. Alexei Voylkov, deputy chairman of the Russian Bankers Association, admitted that he had never seen such an implementation in a large bank.
Andrey Tugarin, managing partner of legal firm GMT Legal, said that B-crypto’s cryptocurrency activities are completely within the legal realm. He stressed that the DFA law only applies to transactions that take place through Russia’s information infrastructure.
As the DFA law is currently under consideration in the National Assembly, possible amendments may allow digital currency trading within the experimental legal system.
