Russia’s VTB Bank To Expand International Financial Transfer Services Into Africa, LatAm and Asia

Russia’s VTB bank plans to expand its services geography in providing international transfers in national currencies during 2025 by adding new countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, the Russian state bank’s deputy CEO, Georgy Gorshkov has stated.

VTB’s retail customers made 2.1 million transfers in the currencies of friendly countries in 2024, six times more than in 2023. These transfers totalled more than ₽50.5 billion (US$507 million). The largest number of transfers went to Tajikistan, followed by China, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. VTB expects international transfers by its retail customers to exceed ₽240 billion (US$2.43 billion) in 2025. These payments avoid the US dollar dominant SWIFT global network and utilise Russia’s Fast Payment Systems network instead.

Gorshkov said that “Our retail clients are increasing interest in international transfers, which stimulates the continual development of international settlement technology. Such ‘financial bridges’ are now open for VTB retail clients to more than half of the countries in the world. This year we will continue to expand the geography of cross-border settlements. There will be transfers to countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.”

VTB will also launch QR code payment services in friendly countries in the first quarter of 2025. Such services are now available in Tajikistan.

VTB also plans to integrate an incoming cross-border transfer feature that will enable retail customers in Russia to receive funds from abroad. This will be particularly relevant in CIS countries, which includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, with intra-regional trade up 2/3 since 2020.

The CIS has a total population of about 247 million and operates as a loose trade bloc with member states having preferential tariff trade agreements between them. The CIS countries had a combined GDP growth rate of 4.7% in 2024.

Russia’s trade with Africa grew by 43% in 2024 and has also shown significant Russian trade and investment development in Latin America. In Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa are full BRICS members, while Nigeria, and Uganda have joined the BRICS group as partners. In Latin America, Brazil is the primary full BRICS member, with Bolivia also recently joining as a BRICS partner, and Nicaragua and Venezuela also showing keen interest.

VTB, in addition to Sberbank, are jostling for competition to become the first Russian commercial banks with a complete BRICS services coverage.