The Central Bank of Russia will update currency control rules: new requirements for transactions by residents and non-residents
The Bank of Russia is preparing a major update to the currency control system. In the coming months, the regulator plans to require authorized banks to provide expanded information on transactions not only of Russian residents but also of foreign companies, as well as to take into account settlements with promissory notes, precious metals, and digital financial assets.
The essence of the changes
According to the draft directive of the Bank of Russia, banks will be required to reflect new types of currency transactions in their reporting and to compile data on settlements that were previously outside the scope of direct control. In particular, this concerns transactions with:
• bills of exchange and other debt instruments,
• digital financial assets (DFA) transactions,
• precious metals transactions,
• transactions between non-residents in the Russian Federation.
The regulator emphasizes that the purpose of the innovations is not to tighten control, but to increase the transparency of cross-border settlements and reduce the risks of illegal capital withdrawal.
Reasons and expected effect
According to the Central Bank, the volume of settlements involving non-residents in 2024 grew by more than 30%, partly due to the transition to settlements in national currencies and the active use of digital tools. The expansion of currency control will allow for more accurate accounting of such transactions and increase the effectiveness of financial monitoring measures.
In addition, the updated requirements will enable banks to more accurately identify transaction participants and promptly detect suspicious transactions related to circumvention of currency legislation.
Impact on business
According to experts, the new rules will not significantly complicate currency procedures, but will require business processes to be adapted.
• Large companies engaged in foreign economic activity already have the necessary accounting and reporting tools, so they will be able to incorporate the changes into their current processes without significant costs.
• Small and medium-sized businesses may need to update their document management systems and establish closer cooperation with banks.
• The banking sector, in turn, will incur additional costs for updating its IT infrastructure and internal classification of transactions. This may lead to a slight increase in the cost of currency services.
Related changes in currency regulation
• In 2025, the Bank of Russia also announced an update to Instruction No. 181-I on the procedure for accounting for currency transactions, which should standardize reporting and transfer some procedures to digital format.
• The integration of currency control mechanisms with the «Know Your Customer» platform continues, which will allow the Federal Tax Service and the Central Bank to exchange data in real time.
• According to the Central Bank, from 2026, it is planned to include transactions with tokenized assets in the currency control system, which is in line with the policy of digitalization of the financial sector.
The upcoming changes in currency regulation are primarily aimed at increasing the transparency of financial flows and adapting the control system to new types of assets. For companies involved in foreign economic activity, it is important to do the following now:
• audit their currency transactions,
• refine internal reporting and document management procedures,
• ensure readiness to exchange data with banks in an expanded format.
