Russians do not trust the state with information about their wealth, 11% use only cash - intelligence
Kyiv • UNN
11% of Russians categorically refuse cashless payments, and 15% use cash as their primary means of payment. Among the reasons are account freezes, internet outages, and receiving salaries in cash.
11% of Russians categorically refuse any non-cash payments and use only "cash". For 15% of Russian citizens, cash is the main means of payment, UNN reports with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service.
Details
As noted by intelligence, in the Urals, the share of cash supporters is 23%, in the Far East – 20%, in Siberia – 16%, in central Russia – 13%, respectively.
One of the main reasons for using cash is arrests and blocking of accounts, 11% of respondents stated this. In the first half of 2025, the federal bailiff service had 91.9 million court proceedings, which is five million more than the previous year
According to intelligence, 20% of respondents do not want to switch to non-cash payments due to internet outages and poor infrastructure. 23% of respondents receive their salaries in cash, so they practically do not use cards.
The reluctance of Russian citizens to switch to non-cash payments indicates the inefficiency of the project to introduce the "digital ruble", the first stage of which begins in October 2025. Russians do not trust the state with information about their wealth and rely solely on their own strength. Uncertainty about the future makes the country's residents nervous, it is no wonder that "anxiety" became the leader in the Russian nomination "Word of the Year – 2025"