Kazakhstanis Send Record Transfers to Russia

Kazakhstanis are sending record amounts of money to Russia, according to data from the National Bank, Orda.kz reports.

In September, transfers from Kazakhstan to Russia reached 20.3 billion tenge — the highest level since the beginning of 2025 and a 10.1% increase from August. Russia now ranks second among destinations for outbound remittances, following Uzbekistan.

The total volume of money sent abroad via money transfer systems amounted to 71.6 billion tenge. Uzbekistan led with 25 billion tenge, followed by Russia, Türkiye, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan,
 the National Bank reported.

Most transfers were made through Zolotaya Korona, which handled 84.3% of the total (60.3 billion tenge). Other major operators included Western Union (10.9%), MoneyGram (2.5%), and UPT (1.8%). The main currencies were tenge (55.8%) and U.S. dollars (34.6%).

Meanwhile, authorities are tightening oversight of cross-border money transfers. The Financial Monitoring Agency has proposed requiring senders’ IINs for card top-ups of 500,000 tenge or more and keeping ATM footage for at least 180 days to combat cash-out schemes and anonymous transfers.

The State Revenue Committee has also begun analyzing transfers abroad for real estate, goods, and securities purchases. If discrepancies between transactions and declared income are found, citizens receive notices requiring them to explain the source of funds or declare their assets.

To strengthen oversight, the committee is additionally verifying whether citizens are engaged in business activities abroad without the required status in Kazakhstan.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov