How to send money to Russia: methods that work in 2026
Since 2022, sending money to Russia from Europe or the United States has become much more difficult. SWIFT no longer works with most Russian banks, Western Union pulled out, and PayPal is blocked. But there are still options that work, and on this page I explain the four I have tested myself with real money.
The information is useful both if you are traveling to Russia and want to send money to yourself to a MIR card, and if you are not traveling but need to send money to family, friends, pay for a service, or buy something inside the country. The available options are the same in both cases.
The methods I have tested
SendNow
SendNow is a money transfer service to Russia from most European countries, the UK, the US, and many others. It works by sending money to a Russian MIR card or to a bank account in Russia, and the transfer arrives within minutes. I have used it both when traveling to Russia (sending money to my own MIR card) and to send money to contacts inside the country.
Cryptocurrency (USDT + Whitebird)
This is the most widely used method among Russians themselves to move money between abroad and Russia. It involves buying USDT (a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar) on an exchange like Binance or Bybit and sending it to a Russian platform like Whitebird, which converts it into rubles and delivers them to the recipient. It requires technical knowledge: opening an exchange account, managing wallets, and understanding networks (TRC20 vs ERC20). I have used it for larger transfers.
Volet + SwapCoin
Volet (formerly AdvCash) is a European multi-currency account. You load it with a card and then use SwapCoin to convert that balance into rubles and send them to a Russian account or MIR card. It serves as an alternative when SendNow does not cover your country of origin. I tried it as a combination: it works, but it involves several steps and different platforms.
Bestchange
Bestchange is a Russian aggregator that compares in real time the exchange rates of hundreds of currency and cryptocurrency exchange services. It does not send money directly: it shows you which service offers the best exchange rate for your specific pair (for example, EUR to rubles on a Sberbank, T-Bank, or other card) and from there you go to the chosen service. It is useful when you already know the available methods and want to find the lowest-cost option at any given moment, since rates change constantly.
