Unistream recorded a fivefold increase in remittances from Russia in July, compared with the previous year, following the departure of Western Union Co, the world’s largest remittance company, Kairzhan Kudyarov said in a Reuters grant interview.

The problem of access to money has become acute for many Russians after Western Union Co left Russia or their cards issued by US payment card companies Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc stopped operating outside of Russia Russia shortly after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on 24 February.

“Migration has also had an impact, as some Russian citizens have left the country, most of them to neighboring countries,” Kudyarov said.

Dozens of Russians left the country after February 24 for a variety of reasons, including fear of being drafted into the military or because their businesses were transferred amid unprecedented financial and economic sanctions imposed by the West to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

Unistream has seen a spike in money transfers to Armenia and Georgia in recent months, Kudyarov said, adding that there had been an increase in transfers to almost all CIS countries since late February.

“Our customer flow has started to change, and the sender profile is changing. Previously, the main customers were foreign migrant workers, but now Russian citizens are also actively sending funds,” Kudyarov said.

NEW COUNTRY

Unistream, which made a profit of 800 million rubles ($13.27 million) in the first half of this year, launched money transfers to the Czech Republic and Germany in August and plans to expand its geographic footprint.

Unistream customers can now make instant money transfers to 10 countries outside the CIS, including the UK, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Israel, and transfer the equivalent of up to $10,000 per month without needing to open an account.

Mr Kudyarov said the bank is in talks with its Turkish counterparts to launch money transfers in early September and is looking for new partners in Kazakhstan to transfer money to cards there.

Unistream is also in talks with African countries and India to transfer money there.

“With the departure of Western Union, far abroad has been left completely without a remittance system, an empty niche,” Kudyarov said.

($1 = 60,3000 rubles)