In 2025, suspicious transactions in the Russian financial system came to 72.6 billion roubles. That is lower than the year before, yet banks keep tightening their control over international settlements and their checks on the source of funds.
Over the same period, transactions by individuals showing signs of money mule activity ("drops", in Russian market usage) passed 90 billion roubles, a 1.7-fold increase over the year.
Against this background, banks, payment agents and financial institutions have become far more attentive to international transfers, invoice payments, foreign trade contracts and cross-border settlements.
That is why almost any international payment today goes through a currency compliance review.
For the client it looks simple: a manager asks for the contract, the invoice and the documents for the goods, then asks a few extra questions about the deal.
But it is exactly this review that often saves a business from a returned payment, a blocked transaction, or problems that surface only after the money has been sent.
What changed in 2026
Since June 2025, Rosfinmonitoring (Russia's financial monitoring service) has had additional powers to suspend transactions where there are signs of suspicious activity.
In parallel, banks continue to roll out automated transaction analysis systems that assess:
- the source of funds
- the economic substance of the deal
- whether the documents are consistent
- the settlement structure
- the counterparties and the parties to the payment
Where many checks used to be done selectively, today an up-front review of an international deal has become standard practice.
For a business this means one thing: the better the documents are prepared, the more smoothly the payment goes through.
What gets checked first
The counterparty
Before the payment is made, specialists check the company that will receive the money.
The first things they look at:
- registration data
- bank details
- country of registration
- whether the data in the contract and the invoice match
If the supplier issued the invoice from one company but asks for the money to be sent to another, that is a reason to stop and get to the bottom of the situation before releasing the funds.
The deal documents
Errors in the documents are the most common reason for questions on international payments.
What gets checked:
- the contract
- the invoice
- the specification
- annexes to the contract
- documents for the goods or services
Even a small discrepancy in the amount, the payment details or the description of the goods can lead to follow-up requests.
The economic substance of the transaction
Everyone in the settlement chain has to understand:
- what the payment is for
- who receives the money
- which document evidences the deal
- how the contract will be performed
If the logic of the deal cannot be traced, the chance of a review goes up.
Three mistakes that most often lead to problems
Mistake No. 1. Paying an invoice without checking the documents
Business owners very often receive an invoice and immediately try to pay it.
Then, once the money has been sent, it turns out that:
- the payment details contain an error
- the contract is missing the required annexes
- the data in the documents does not match
Fixing mistakes like these after the transfer is always harder and more expensive.
Mistake No. 2. Reusing old document templates
A common situation: a company takes the contract from a previous deal and changes only the supplier's name.
As a result, old data stays in the documents and becomes the reason for follow-up questions.
Mistake No. 3. Treating compliance as a formality
In practice, compliance is not there for the payment agent.
It is there for the client.
This is the stage that surfaces most of the problems that could otherwise lead to delays or a return of the funds.
What a single mistake can cost
Say a company is paying a supplier 100,000 US dollars for equipment.
If the payment comes back because of an error in the documents or the payment details, the business stands to lose more than just time.
The consequences can include:
- missed delivery deadlines
- rescheduled production
- penalties under the contract
- a higher purchase cost because the exchange rate has moved
The cost of one mistake therefore often turns out to be far higher than the cost of the check itself.
Checklist before an international payment
Before you pay, make sure:
✓ The contract is signed.
✓ The invoice has been received.
✓ The recipient's bank details have been checked.
✓ The documents for the goods or services are ready.
✓ The payment reference matches the documents.
✓ The counterparty has been checked.
✓ The structure of the deal is clear.
This simple list heads off most problems before the money is sent.
Why compliance works in the client's favour
Many people see the extra questions as an obstacle.
In practice it is the other way round.
Compliance helps to:
- catch errors before the money moves
- avoid a returned payment
- reduce the risk of further checks
- protect the business from financial losses
- speed up the international settlement
In effect, it is an extra layer of protection for the deal.
How EAST PAY runs currency compliance
At EAST PAY the review starts before the payment is made.
Our specialists analyse the deal documents, check the settlement structure, assess the risks and help resolve possible problems before any money is sent.
This approach matters especially for invoice payments to China, South Korea, Japan and the UAE, and when buying equipment, cars or property, or paying for international services.
Conclusion
An international payment today is not just a money transfer.
It is a complex transaction in which errors in the documents can cost a business time and money — and break contracts.
Good currency compliance is therefore not bureaucracy but a tool that helps a payment go through faster, more safely and more predictably.