Kazakhstan’s biggest banks have sharply raised fees for handling cash Russian rubles. The charges now range from 10% to 15% of the transaction amount, even as public appetite for the Russian currency continues to wane, according to infohub.kz.
Halyk Bank introduced new conditions for cash ruble deposits starting July 28. The fee is now 15% of the amount, with a minimum of 10,000 tenge.
Bank CenterCredit is following suit. From August 12, it will charge a 10% fee on cash ruble deposits to current and savings accounts, including those made via ATMs and terminals.
In June 2026, exchange points purchased 17.5 billion tenge more in Russian rubles from the population than they sold. Nevertheless, the net supply of Russian currency dropped 42% month over month and 57% year over year.
In 12 Kazakh regions, residents are cashing in rubles more often than buying them. Astana and Almaty together contribute 71% of the negative net demand.
However, in eight regions, demand for Russian currency still outpaces supply. The highest net purchase volume was in Karaganda Region, at about 1 billion tenge.
Earlier, economist Arman Beisembayev explained in an interview with Kursiv the reasons behind the tenge’s strength against the ruble and dollar, how long the trend might continue, and whether now is a good time to buy or sell currency.