Russia experienced widespread disruptions to its banking services on Friday after authorities intensified efforts to block virtual private networks, according to Telegram founder Pavel Durov. The outages affected major banks, including Sberbank, T-Bank, and VTB, halting mobile app functions, card payments at terminals, QR code transactions, Bluetooth payments, and ATM withdrawals.

Problems began around 10 a.m. Moscow time, according to monitoring service Downdetector, has led to long lines at shops, restaurants, and gas stations where customers relied on cash. The Moscow metro temporarily allowed passengers through turnstiles without payment, while a regional zoo requested cash from visitors. Russia's Fast Payment System, which handles instant interbank transfers via phone numbers and QR codes, also faced processing delays.

Durov, whose messaging app Telegram has over 1 billion users worldwide, attributed the chaos directly to the government's VPN restrictions. In a post on Saturday, he wrote: "Their blocking attempts just triggered a massive banking failure; cash briefly became the only payment method nationwide yesterday." He added that 65 million Russians use Telegram daily despite blocks, declaring: "Welcome back to the Digital Resistance, my Russian brothers and sisters. The entire nation is now mobilised to bypass these absurd restrictions."

Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, acknowledged a technical issue but provided no further details. The Central Bank's National Payment Card System described it as a glitch at one bank that caused short-term difficulties with card operations, emphasizing that customer funds remained safe. Some Russian media outlets removed reports linking the disruptions to state internet blocking activities.

The incident occurred amid escalating government measures against VPNs, which millions of Russians use to access blocked sites like YouTube, Instagram, and Telegram. Roskomnadzor, the communications regulator, has blacklisted over 400 VPNs and requested removals from app stores. The Digital Development Ministry urged banks and platforms to bar VPN users or risk exclusion from a "white list" of essential sites during outages. Officials cite national security, including threats from Ukraine and Western intelligence, as justification for curbing messengers like Telegram, which they accuse of vulnerabilities despite denials from the company.

Experts suggested the outage stemmed from overload in filtering systems or complications from widespread VPN usage. Russia has imposed partial Telegram restrictions since February 2026 and plans further VPN limits, including data fees for international traffic. Services largely recovered by Friday evening, but the episode highlighted vulnerabilities in Russia's digital infrastructure amid tightening controls.