The demand for cash in Russia in October was slightly higher than the average values of previous years, according to the information and analytical commentary of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation "Financial conditions and the transmission of monetary policy".
"The demand for cash in October, as in the previous month, was slightly higher than the average values of previous years. The share of cash in the money supply was 15.4% (as of October 1, 2026: 15.3%)," the document reads.
It should be noted that the banks' average need for liquidity under market conditions in October rose to 6.5 trillion ₽ (in September - 5.8 trillion ₽) following an increase in the structural liquidity deficit of the banking sector by 0.6 trillion ₽.
The demand for standing loans of the Bank of Russia within the main mechanism has not changed significantly, the regulator clarifies.
"The forecast for the need of the banks to attract liquidity at auctions of the Bank of Russia on average for the average period of December of this year is 8-9.2 trillion ₽. The structural liquidity deficit for this period is estimated to be in the range of ₽4-5.2 trillion," the commentary reads.
Earlier in September, research by inFOM showed that cash had become the most popular method of storing money - it was chosen by 38% of respondents. During the year the stock increased by 6 percentage points. - This is the highest figure since spring 2022. At the same time, cash even surpassed bank accounts - they were chosen by 37% of respondents. Just a year ago the picture was completely different: the option against the credit institutions won by a large margin. In September 2025, 43% of respondents chose it.
As we wrote before, the amount of cash in the hands of the population continues to grow - continuous attempts by the state to squeeze more taxes from businesses and the population naturally led to the transition of the economy to the gray sector. Everyone who can switches to cash payments, and hundreds of billions of rubles, which previously passed through bank terminals and were reflected in the report, are now changing hands in the form of cash, bypassing accounting and tax departments.