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Transferring Money

There are several options available for transferring money into Russia. The quickest way is to use established money transfer companies such as Western Union - their literature will explain the procedure and the costs involved.

Alternatively, open an account in a Russian based bank.

Russian banks and their banking system are extremely primitive and so are the people working for them. However they do have the advantage of allowing non-Russian citizens to open a rouble or hard currency account.

There are several Foreign banks in St. Petersburg but unless you are a Russian resident you may not open an account in your own right – this is imposed on them by Russian bureaucracy.

However - if you happen to be involved with a Russian citizen - that you can trust - then they may open the account and give you “Power of Attorney” - effectively providing full access to the account. Foreign banks also offer banking services which you come to expect – online banking, visa-debit card etc…

Russian or foreign – the banks provide all the necessary details for transferring cash into them.