Sberbank begins processing crypto payments for Russian exporters

Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, has started processing cryptocurrency payments for corporate clients involved in foreign trade, the bank announced at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of the Executive Board, said international settlements in crypto mean "faster payments, new markets, and partners previously inaccessible due to restrictions," a reference to Western sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Payments between crypto wallets settle in minutes rather than days, the bank's press service told the business news portal RBC. The average transaction cost is 0.3%, lower than traditional wire transfers, and all necessary documentation for foreign exchange control is generated automatically during the transaction, the press service added, as quoted by the Vedomosti daily.

The launch coincides with the full enforcement of the law "on digital currency," which came into effect September 1. The legislation, adopted by parliament in July and signed by President Vladimir Putin in early August, legalizes cryptocurrency transactions for investment, exchange, and trading but permanently bans the use of digital coins as a means of payment inside Russia. Russian businesses may now use crypto for cross-border settlements, while domestic payments remain reserved for the digital ruble, which launched for public use the same day.

Sberbank itself is subject to Western sanctions over the war. Vedyakhin noted that the operations were first tested under an "experimental legal regime" established by the Central Bank of Russia in September 2024. The pilot ran for nearly two years. "Now that the law regulating cryptocurrencies has entered into force, we expect strong demand for this new instrument," he said.

Anatoly Popov, another deputy chairman of Sberbank's board, told the state-run news agency TASS ahead of the forum that the crypto payment feature will become available to users of the SberBusiness application by the end of 2026. The necessary infrastructure is in place, he said, and the new method will be integrated as an option for Sber's corporate customers.

Popov also said Sberbank intends to develop lending secured by digital assets, accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether's stablecoin USDT as collateral. The three cryptocurrencies were recently approved for regulated circulation by Russia's monetary authority. Sberbank first flagged crypto-backed credit in December last year, issued the country's first such loan shortly afterward, and has since signaled plans to scale the business. This past summer, the bank said it would launch a regulated coin trading platform and a cryptocurrency wallet by December 2026.

Under the new digital currency law, established players in Russia's traditional financial market such as Sberbank may work with crypto through dedicated divisions under their existing licenses. The framework is intended to give the central bank oversight of the flow while offering sanctioned companies a legal channel for cross-border trade payments that bypass traditional fiat rails. Russia has been actively exploring alternatives to the dollar and euro in international settlements since the imposition of sweeping Western sanctions in 2022.

Sberbank's move represents the largest-scale entry of a sanctioned Russian institution into crypto payment processing to date. The timeline is stretched to end-2026 for the full service rollout, but the bank has already demonstrated the infrastructure works. Traders and businesses engaged in Russian export-import activity now face a choice between existing fiat corridors, which carry their own compliance and delay risks, and the crypto route Sber is proposing.

For counterparties outside Russia, accepting crypto payments from a sanctioned bank introduces its own legal and reputational considerations. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the European Union have not specifically addressed Sberbank's crypto service as of the announcement, but secondary sanctions risk remains a factor for any foreign entity transacting with a blacklisted institution.

Sberbank's crypto lending plans are more straightforward: offering loans against BTC, ETH, and USDT collateral to its corporate clients. The bank has already issued one such loan, and Popov said scaling up is the next step. The digital ruble launch on the same day as the crypto law's enforcement underlines Moscow's two-track approach, a state-controlled digital currency for domestic use and a permissioned crypto market for cross-border trade.

Vedyakhin framed the service as a response to demand from exporters and importers cut off from traditional payment systems. "For Russian exporters and importers, international settlements in cryptocurrency mean faster payments, new markets, and partners previously inaccessible due to restrictions," he said. The bank's first pilot under the experimental regime began in September 2024 and is now live for select corporate clients.

Popov's end-2026 target for the SberBusiness app integration suggests the bank is taking a measured rollout pace. But the infrastructure, he said, is already built. The collateralized lending, trading platform, and wallet are all expected within the same timeframe. Sberbank's existing license structure under the new law means it does not need a separate crypto license to offer these services.

The combination of sanctions pressure, a new legal framework, and the digital ruble launch creates a unique moment for Russian crypto adoption. Sberbank's entry as the dominant lender could accelerate adoption among corporate clients who have been waiting for a regulated on-ramp. The key risk over the next 18 months is whether foreign counterparties are willing to engage with a sanctioned institution's crypto payment service, and whether Western regulators respond with new restrictions targeting crypto-based sanctions evasion.