Russia expects digital finance to eventually replace traditional payment methods

By Emre Gurkan Abay

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said that digital finance and financial assets will eventually replace traditional payment methods and systems due to their cost-effectiveness, speed, and reliability.

Speaking at an event in Moscow, Siluanov said inflation primarily impacts low-income people and businesses whose expenses depend on inflation, and when salaries and raw material prices grow faster than inflation, an urgent need to solve the inflation issue surfaces.

The minister said that, because Russian banks are experiencing difficulties as a result of sanctions, digital financial assets will eventually replace traditional payment methods, noting that banks, including those in countries unwilling to work with Russia, will be rendered obsolete.

Russian banks were removed from the SWIFT financial messaging system in 2022, and they have since struggled with international payments.

President Vladimir Putin signed a bill in March allowing digital financial assets to be used for international payments.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul