The demand for cash increased in the early summer months, reported the Bank of Russia. In June and July, the cash outflow from banks amounted to 200 billion rubles per month, writes Forbes.
The main reasons cited are temporary internet outages and the desire of the population and businesses to stock up on cash for transactions due to news about new legislation concerning payment monitoring.
The average liquidity surplus in July averaged 1.2 trillion rubles, according to the document. The increase in cash circulation in July led to an outflow of 200 billion rubles. According to the regulator, among the reasons for the deviation may be the desire of the population and businesses to form a reserve of cash for transactions due to news about new legislation concerning payment monitoring and temporary internet outages in some Russian regions.
Mobile internet outages occur, according to authorities, due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks. However, the internet is also turned off in regions where no drone attacks have been recorded.
According to the "On the Line" project data, in July, Russians faced more than two thousand shutdowns.
Russians also stocked up on cash due to a law that, from September, allows banks to impose restrictions on cash withdrawals through ATMs. Additionally, since June, Rosfinmonitoring has been granted the right to block cards and accounts for 10–30 days without a court order for suspicious transactions.