YEREVAN, January 10. /ARKA/. VTB (Armenia) clients remitted more than AMD 16 bln to Russia over the first 11 months of 2022, making more than 50,000 transactions, the bank said today in a press release.

It said compared to the same period of 2022, the number of money transfers grew by 69%. In December the bank expanded the functionality of money transfers enabling residents of Armenia to make transactions in Armenian drams without conversion costs.

To make a money transfer from Armenia to Russia in Armenian drams one needs to open an account in the currency of the sender's country and specify the number of the recipient's account in AMD at VTB. The service is available at all branches of the country.

In the future the bank plans to make this offer available in remote channels as well. The amount will be credited to the account of the Russian recipient within one day. Clients can exchange their drams to other currencies at the branches of the bank in Russia or convert them at a beneficial exchange rate through VTB Online. The commission for each transaction is 2% of the amount; the minimum amount is AMD 1,500.

"We continue to see the growth of trans-border money transfers from Armenia to Russia. In 11 months of the last year residents of Armenia transferred more than AMD 16bln to Russian users, the number of transactions reached 52 thousand, which is 69% higher than in the same time span of 2022. In the new financial conditions the usual ways of transferring money abroad have changed; moreover, currency exchange operations have become much more expensive. On this background VTB has developed a service for customers who regularly carry out remittances to Russia - a new service will help receive funds directly into accounts in AMD without additional conversion losses", said Acting Deputy CEO - Chairman of VTB Bank (Armenia) Taras Kladchenko.

Last year VTB was actively developing alternative possibilities for cross-border money transfers. The Bank launched money transfers from Russia to Armenia in AMD according to the recipient's bank details. All VTB Online users have to do is specify the card number and full name of the recipient. The bank also launched its own service in the country - instant transfers to an account or a card from Russian customers through VTB Online in AMD by a cell phone number.

Armenia was the first country to launch the new functionality. For more information about money transfer, please visit the official site of VTB (Armenia), bank branches or call 8787.

The activity of VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC is regulated by the Central Bank of Armenia. -0-