Currency Without the Queue: Russia Simplifies Cash Dollar and Euro Purchases
Banki.ru, a financial marketplace, has launched an online service for purchasing foreign currency. Users can now choose a favorable exchange rate, reserve the amount they need, pay online and pick up the cash at a branch that is convenient for them. The service is available in several regions of Russia.
Banki.ru’s currency-rate comparison service has been operating for more than 20 years. More than 3 million people use it every month. Some look for a favorable rate before a trip, while others need foreign currency for another financial transaction. Now users no longer have to stop at the comparison stage. The platform lets them complete the purchase online and reserve cash in advance.
Kamkombank is the first partner for the new service. Its offers are already available to Banki.ru users. Customers can purchase any currency that is in stock at their selected branch.
From Search to Reservation
Until now, the digital process for buying cash currency mostly ended with comparing exchange rates. A customer would find a suitable offer, then have to contact the branch independently to check whether the required amount is available.
Now users only need to open the “Currency Rates” section on Banki.ru and select a bank offer. They then specify the branch where they want to collect the money, complete remote identification and sign the documents electronically. Payment is made through Sistema bystrykh platezhey (Faster Payments System, SBP).
The bank then receives the transaction details and reserves the required amount of cash at the selected branch. That is particularly useful because not every currency, such as the Turkish lira or UAE dirham, is always in stock.
For customers, the main benefit is time savings. They no longer need to call several branches to find out whether the required amount is available or plan a trip around a cash desk’s operating hours. Most of the key steps can be completed remotely.
What Happens to the Exchange Rate
The new service has one important feature users need to keep in mind. When a purchase is placed, the calculation is based on the rate in effect at the time of the online payment. However, the bank makes the final calculation using its current rate at the time of the transaction at the branch.
If the currency costs less when the customer picks it up than the amount already paid, the bank refunds the difference. If the rate moves in the opposite direction and the final cost is higher, the customer has to pay the difference.
In other words, an online transaction does not mean the final price of the banknotes is permanently locked in when the payment is made. This matters especially for large purchases, where even a small exchange-rate move can noticeably change the final amount.
Where There's Demand There's Supply
Early results from the service show that users are turning to it not only to get spending cash for trips but also for fairly large transactions. The average transaction was 200,000 rubles (about $2,400) at launch, while the largest single purchase reached 1 million rubles (about $11,800).
For the business, there is a clear benefit: the bank can more easily determine how much cash and which currencies a particular branch will need.In this way, the financial marketplace is becoming a place where transactions can actually be completed.
“We aim to set a high standard in currency exchange by offering customers the most favorable rates and continuously improving the service to make currency transactions simpler and more convenient. The new online currency-purchase format is another step in that direction. Our goal is to make the entire exchange process as convenient as possible for customers, from choosing the rate and the amount they need to picking up the currency at their selected branch,” said Tatyana Galimardanova, vice president of Kamkombank.
For now, the service is not available in all Russian regions, but this is only the beginning.
The Future of Financial Services
The cash-currency purchase service reflects a broader trend in Russian fintech: digitalization is moving beyond transfers, payments and bank-product applications to processes that still end with a physical transaction. In this case, that means collecting cash at a branch.
For users, the integration is almost invisible. They do not need to figure out which system handles each stage. They simply choose the currency and branch, complete the purchase and arrive to collect an order that is ready for them. In the foreseeable future, the same approach could be applied to other financial transactions.
