There wasn't even a system of paper checks. People paid for utilities, bought groceries, paid rent and received their salaries in cash. However, within the past few years, and particularly since the 1998 collapse of the ruble, an avalanche of technological changes has swept through the Russian banking system. Today, paychecks are directly deposited into bank accounts, and residents of major cities can use their debit cards to pay for everything from groceries to gas. Money can be moved electronically and from bank to bank - no suitcases required.
Transactions take from one to three days to settle instead of weeks.
The bank had to replace a paper-based payment processing system with modern technology and, at the same time, build a communications system to span 11 time zones and 79 banking regions. That required a combination of satellites, radio relays and fiber-optic lines. The bank won't say how much it cost to build that infrastructure. But some critics are concerned that by focusing on technology, the Central Bank and the Russian government as a whole are diverting attention from a more serious issue. Regulations aren't enforced particularly well.