ARTICLE:

Russian Post's losses surge 44% as rural offices face closure threats

The Central Bank of Russia is discussing reforms to improve the financial situation of Russian Post. The expert community has been informed that the Central Bank proposed to the government to address the issue of closing postal services that provide financial services to the population. Targeted measures can stabilize the financial situation of the operator, but they do not solve the accumulated problems - for this, it is necessary to reconsider the business model of the state company, experts believe.

The Bank of Russia considers it necessary to remove barriers to accepting cashless payments for housing and communal services in postal offices and to exempt these payments from the escrow commission. Such proposals were sent to the Russian government.

The Bank of Russia also supported a number of proposals for targeted financing of postal offices in rural and small settlements. Their implementation, together with a complex of measures proposed by the government, will improve the financial situation of Russian Post and increase financing for postal offices in rural areas and in remote and sparsely populated areas.

The Central Bank noted that, according to information received from Russian Post, some rural postal offices are operating at a loss, which leads to a reduction in their number, while emphasizing that the work of postal offices has special social significance. "Often in small settlements, a post office is the only place where you can receive financial services, so its presence is extremely important for people, especially for the elderly," the regulator's press service reported.

25 March, it became known about the draft law prepared by the Ministry of Digital Development and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, aimed at supporting Russian Post, including stabilizing its financial situation. According to Russian Post's IFRS reporting, for 9 months of 2025, the company received 13.52 billion rubles of net loss, which is 44% more than for the same period in 2024. Revenue for the same period decreased slightly (by 3.3%) and amounted to 160.7 billion rubles.

Among the proposals of the Ministry of Digital Development: - allow postal offices to sell over-the-counter medicines; - prohibit banks from charging commissions from citizens when paying for services in post office branches; - oblige marketplaces included in the register of digital platforms to open PVZ in post office branches or supply goods there; - transfer all payments for housing and communal services to electronic format, making an exception only for those who do not have a Gosuslugi account.

The apparatus of the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko did not give estimates to the proposals of the Ministry of Digital Development, but reported to Expert that Russian Post "is an irreplaceable part of the social infrastructure, the activities of which ensure postal communication throughout Russia, including the delivery of pensions to remote areas. The task is to give the company new opportunities for development, including financial ones, and to consolidate a number of areas for it", - said a representative of Dmitry Grigorenko.