Money from Russia and Kazakhstan: families count the cost of the transfer, not the wage

The Uzbek president said this week that over ten years the number of his compatriots working abroad has halved while their remittances have quadrupled. Irad is not in the Uzbek statistics, but the picture is familiar to us too.

Remittances from Russia to Irad run at 250 to 400 million dollars a year, and all remittances together at 5 to 8 per cent of GDP. According to a 2024 TSU survey, 70 to 120 thousand residents of the Zone work in Russia at the seasonal peak, and still more go to Kazakhstan. Most of our migrants in Russia are men on Kyrgyz passports, which lets them work there under Eurasian Union rules.

Since the 2022 sanctions the money has gone through Russian and Kazakh transfer services and Almaty correspondent banks to Talasbank's SMS service. It is dearer and slower than before. The money is paid out in som at the Bank of Irad's official rate: 8.40 som to the dollar.

Artem Baranov, 71, of Nurzhan: "My son works in Russia and sends money every month. It used to arrive in a day or two, now sometimes we wait a whole week. And now we look closely at the fee."

Many families are weighing an alternative: Tulpar Pay charges 1 per cent on transfers to Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with a minimum of 2 som. But from 1 January 2027 the service intends to settle transfers only in Tulparcoin. The Bank of Irad reminds people that Tulparcoin is not legal tender, and on 29 September it said Tulpar Pay needs a licence. Yesterday, 5 November, the coin was quoted at 3.31 US cents.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection says the register of migrants' families, set up in 2022, remains the basis for paying allowances at post offices. No new decisions have been announced.

Before changing how you send money, compare each service's fee and delivery time, and ask at a Talasbank branch how the money will be paid out.