Old money, new problems Sanctions leave Russian banks and customers stuck with older U.S. currency that’s increasingly difficult to exchange at home and abroad

Sanctions have significantly hindered the flow of fresh foreign currency into Russian banks, leaving both the institutions and their customers with a surplus of “old-series” dollars issued before 2009. Many foreign exchange offices reject these bills or agree to exchange them only at unfavorable rates. Even domestically, Russians are increasingly encountering problems using older greenbacks.

Your money’s no good here

Russians are facing rejections when trying to use older dollar bills overseas, including in Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, the UAE, and other nations. “It’s a painful subject,” Arthur Muradyan, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, admitted to the state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. “In Russia, before traveling abroad, tourists are sold old-series bills, but abroad they already require new-series ones.”

Based on online reviews from Russian travelers and expatriates, exchanging older U.S. currency often means extra fees or less favorable exchange rates. In some cases, people with older U.S. bills are simply turned away.

Meanwhile, in Russia, banks have introduced fees for exchanging older U.S. banknotes, and major players like Sberbank, VTB, and Alfa-Bank have stopped exchanging the old bills altogether. For example, currency exchange offices in St. Petersburg charge 500 rubles (roughly $7) to accept $100 bills issued before 2007

Russians who wish to avoid fees and commissions can opt for double conversion, selling their old U.S. bills for rubles and then purchasing newer dollars. However, the loss due to exchange-rate differences can be significant. 

Russian lawmakers have blamed the public for the currency issue. “This is a problem for those who acquired foreign currency and suddenly realized that getting rid of it isn't so simple,” said Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma’s Financial Markets Committee, in February 2025. The Central Bank has not publicly commented on the currency-exchange policies of Russian banks. 

Exchanging or accepting old-series U.S. dollars remains legal in Russia.

America’s dynamic dollars

In the United States, all Federal Reserve banknotes issued since 1914 remain legal tender. These bills have no “expiration date,” but the U.S. legislation requiring acceptance of any banknotes issued since 1914 applies only to government agencies. Private companies and individuals can decide for themselves whether to accept payment with old bills.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, there is more than $2 trillion worth of Federal Reserve notes in circulation in denominations ranging from $1 to $100. In 1969, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve decided to discontinue all denominations above $100, but even these bills remain legal tender. In 2016, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers called for withdrawing $100 bills from circulation to fight crime and corruption, warning that criminal organizations favored high-denomination bills because they’re easier to hide and transport. 

The U.S. Treasury continually updates the design of American banknotes to make them more difficult to counterfeit. According to the update schedule, the next redesign is slated for the $10 bill in 2026.

Cash rules in Russia

Banks outside the U.S. prefer to have newer bills on their balance sheets because they have better anti-counterfeiting protection. Russian banks are no exception, but U.S. sanctions have made these institutions even more selective and risk-averse, raising costs that they pass on to customers seeking the newer dollars.

In spring 2022, the U.S. banned the import of cash dollars into Russia, and the previous flow of U.S. bills to Russian banks vanished almost completely. Even banks that are formally not under sanctions have few new cash dollars, since the U.S. ban on importing dollars is broader than Washington’s sanctions against specific financial organizations.

Before the sanctions, Russian banks imported cash dollars independently, buying them from foreign correspondent banks. In May 2020, Moscow International Currency Association president Alexey Mamontov explained to the news outlet RBC that the Russian market's need for dollars and euros was met by 10-15 banks, primarily large state and commercial banks with extensive regional branch networks, as well as foreign bank subsidiaries.

Western sanctions severed Russian banks from their foreign correspondent banks. In February 2023, a senior executive at Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank told The Financial Times that the bank had shut down correspondent accounts for all Russian banks except its own subsidiary. At the time, the source said Raiffeisen was handling 40-50 percent of all the money flowing between Russia and the rest of the world.

In December 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the Treasury to impose secondary sanctions against foreign banks that even indirectly facilitated the circumvention of sanctions against Russia. For example, they could be prohibited from opening correspondent accounts in the United States or have their use restricted, while their property in the country could be frozen. In November 2024, the U.S. even imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, which had been operating as a crucial “payment gateway” for Russia's entire economy.

As a result, according to Central Bank data as of April 1, 2024, correspondent relationships between Russian banks and foreign ones in “toxic” currencies decreased by 17 percent compared to October 2023, and by 55 percent compared to early 2022.

Other influences on Russia’s U.S. currency supply include limits on cash withdrawals from foreign-currency accounts opened before March 9, 2022 (no more than $10,000 or the equivalent amount in euros). The remaining funds can still be withdrawn in rubles. This March, the Central Bank extended the limits until September 2025.

Money deposited after September 9, 2022, is dispensed at the bank's exchange rate on the date of withdrawal. Banks are prohibited from charging fees when customers withdraw foreign currency from their accounts. Additionally, individuals can still leave Russia with up to $10,000 (or equivalent amounts in other currencies) in cash.