Roubles and rupees now account for 96% of payments in trade between Russia and India, according to Ivan Nosov, head of Sberbank’s India operations. He said the two countries had built a functioning settlement infrastructure and no longer faced the earlier level of payment difficulty.
Banker describes faster settlements
Nosov told Reuters that 90% of transactions are processed within ten minutes and more than half within one minute. Twenty-two Russian banks and 17 Indian banks are involved in servicing bilateral trade, according to the report.
These figures are statements from a senior participant in the system, not an independent audit of every transaction. They should be attributed to Sberbank rather than presented as an uncontested government statistic.
Why payment routes changed
Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted access to established financial channels. Russia and India expanded settlement in national currencies as India increased purchases of discounted Russian oil.
Bilateral trade reached a reported record of about $70 billion in 2024, fell in 2025 as sanctions tightened and recovered during the first half of 2026.
The trade imbalance challenge
India imports substantially more from Russia than it exports there. That imbalance can leave Russian entities holding rupees that are difficult to deploy internationally. A payment can be technically fast while the larger question of how recipients use accumulated currency remains.
Expanded Indian exports, investment options and currency-conversion arrangements could reduce that imbalance, but each measure carries commercial and regulatory constraints.
Sanctions risk remains
A well-functioning bilateral mechanism does not eliminate sanctions exposure. Banks and companies must still assess whether counterparties, vessels, insurers or products are subject to restrictions imposed by the United States, European Union or other jurisdictions.
India has not joined Western sanctions against Russia, but Indian institutions operating internationally can still face compliance and access risks.
Political context
The comments followed continued high-level engagement between New Delhi and Moscow. Economic cooperation remains important to both governments, particularly in energy, fertiliser, defence and trade.
What to watch
Future data should show whether the 96% share is sustained, whether bilateral trade becomes more balanced and how banks manage secondary-sanctions risk. For now, the claim indicates that local-currency settlement has become the dominant channel, according to Russia’s largest lender.
