Russia's largest lender, state-owned Sberbank, on 7 September announced the launch of a new service that allows its clients to transfer money to Iran.
“The money transfer service to Iran is new to us, and the demand for it has yet to be assessed. The service is primarily designed for tourists," the statement reads. It also highlighted that the service can be carried out both in favor of “individuals and legal entities.”
Per the terms of the new service, ruble transfers will be sent to Iran's Pasargad Bank with the standard commission for international transactions of one percent.
The money transfer service is the latest step taken by Moscow to deepen banking cooperation with the Islamic Republic in defiance of rampant western sanctions that target both nations.
Last December, Russia's second-largest bank introduced a platform allowing individuals and companies to transfer funds to and from Iran.
"We are the first bank that implements financial transfers to Iran due to the commercial relations [between Iran and Russia], the expansion of economic cooperation, and the development of tourism," VTB said.
As part of the growing cooperation, in May, the Governor of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, visited Tehran for talks with her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Farzin, focused on strengthening relations between commercial banks from the two sanctioned countries as well as increasing banking infrastructure cooperation.
In 2022, the value of goods and services exchanged between Iran and Russia surged by 15 percent, reaching $4.6 billion, according to official data.