53% of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia were unable to transfer money at least once in the past two quarters because a foreign bank refused the transfer. In the same period in 2022 it was 35%. This was the result of a study by Promswjazbank and the small and medium-sized business association Opora Rossiji. 50% of SMEs complained about delays in payment transactions (2022: 36%), and 41% (20%) complained about excessive commissions. Experts explain the trend with foreign banks’ fear of US sanctions.