Spain is one of the countries people from all over the world most actively come to for work. It suits both temporary employment and a permanent move. Many companies need professionals who want to earn a living. Many immigrants have family back home who cannot move abroad, so they have to send money to their home country.
How can you transfer money safely? Is it possible to send any amount quickly in 2024 through a dedicated website or service? We answer all these questions in this article.
Almost every method described below starts with the same first step: a local account from which the money is sent. How a non-resident can open one and which banks accept Russians is explained in a separate guide: opening a bank account in Spain.
Ways to transfer money
Foreigners have access to various transfer methods, each with its own features. It is important to understand that everything can change at any moment: some methods may become available, while others may close to Russian citizens.
Online platforms
The international payment system Unistream continues to operate in Russia, with partners and service branches in many countries. You can see the list of partner banks on its official website. Many services have stopped operating in the country. For example, the popular Western Union has suspended its operations in Russia.
EU residents can already use other platforms. You can send money through Profee: transfers go to cards of banks that support Mastercard and Visa. To send money you will need a card issued by a European bank. Foreigners can also make transfers through other good systems, for example the Transferwise platform, simply by paying a small fee. The money is credited to a Russian account or card.
Banks
You can also send money to Russia by SWIFT transfer. The money is sent using bank details: the bank must not be under sanctions, so before sending you should check the latest information on blocked financial institutions.
The difficulty with bank transfers is that institutions working today may stop working tomorrow. You always need to look for alternative ways to send the money you have earned.
There is also a flip side: a Spanish tax resident must report to the state any accounts and assets left in Russia. The threshold, deadlines and penalties are covered in our article on the Modelo 720 return.
Intermediaries
Online you can find offers from intermediaries who work under a contract. The money passes from one person to another through a third party, which causes serious difficulties, as it is hard to check that these “helpers” are trustworthy. Transfers are made for a fee, but whatever you pay, the money takes a long time to arrive.
Among the many intermediaries there are often fraudsters. Even a contract does not always protect you from financial losses. Working with third parties offers practically no guarantees. You can protect yourself by registering on a freelancer platform. People often post fictitious jobs in order to transfer money through such platforms.
Crypto exchanges and crypto exchange services
A stablecoin is a special kind of digital currency whose value depends on the price of another asset. There are quite a lot of cryptocurrencies, which causes difficulties for Russians. For example, Tether offered users USDT, pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio. There are other cryptocurrencies that can be bought on crypto exchanges and at crypto exchange services.
How much a transfer costs
You will have to pay a fee for a transfer, which may be very low or, on the contrary, unacceptably high. Study all the transfer options carefully to choose the most favourable one for you.
Costs depend on various factors:
- the transfer method chosen;
- using online platforms that charge no fee but apply their own internal exchange rate;
- when working with intermediaries, transfer costs can reach 40% of the amount sent;
- banks working through SWIFT charge a fairly high fee of 3% or more, but not less than RUB 12,000 per transaction;
- many crypto exchanges charge no commission but may charge internal service fees.
To minimise losses, it is better to transfer larger amounts through the safest channels. With a bank or online platforms, money in the European currency (euros) may be converted automatically into roubles, so a bank transfer reaches the recipient in roubles. Many financial institutions let you send money directly from your account in their app.
How long a transfer takes
Do not expect money sent to reach a recipient in Russia instantly. Transfers often take several days. The time depends on the method and other conditions:
- with a bank transfer, a recipient in Russia can receive the money within 3–5 days;
- platforms transfer amounts within 5 minutes, but sometimes it takes up to 24 hours;
- with crypto exchanges you may have to wait up to 2 days;
- transfers through intermediaries can take up to a week, if no further complications arise.
High fees and long transfer times make intermediaries less popular among people living in Spain. But when banks and dedicated platforms are disrupted, many people have no choice: they have to turn to intermediaries who can send the required amount for a reasonable fee.
Which methods are currently unavailable
Because of sanctions many methods are unavailable for Russia, which creates problems for its citizens. People cannot influence the situation, so they always have to study the market and look for new ways to send money.
At the moment there are some restrictions:
- Blocked bank cards. Mastercard and Visa are temporarily not working in Russia. There will be problems if the card no longer works.
- Bank restrictions. Many financial institutions face serious restrictions that prevent them from receiving money from European countries.
- Unavailable online providers. Some platforms can no longer be used to send money from Spain to Russia.
- No cash transfers by post. International postal money transfers are closed to Russians, so you will have to find other ways. Post between the two countries still works, but only for goods; parcel delivery times and costs are calculated separately.
To work and send money abroad to relatives or friends without problems, you need the permits required for foreigners. At Relotus Relocation we handle applications for the digital nomad visa or the Spanish startup visa, which let you start a new life in this sunny country.
