Using SmartCAT to receive payment from abroad in Russia
Thread poster: Danil Zagibalov
Danil Zagibalov
Danil Zagibalov
Russian Federation
Local time: 22:56
English to Russian
+ ...
Dec 27, 2023

Hello! I am a beginner translator in Russia, and, as you know, due to sanctions it is difficult to receive money from abroad for Russian citizens. I've read that SmartCAT can be used to receive payments from abroad, but I've also heard some say that it doesn't work in all cases.

Can anyone here confirm whether SmartCAT is reliable for receiving payments from other countries in Russia? Are there any limitations to it that I should be aware of? And it it isn't reliable, what are some
... See more
Hello! I am a beginner translator in Russia, and, as you know, due to sanctions it is difficult to receive money from abroad for Russian citizens. I've read that SmartCAT can be used to receive payments from abroad, but I've also heard some say that it doesn't work in all cases.

Can anyone here confirm whether SmartCAT is reliable for receiving payments from other countries in Russia? Are there any limitations to it that I should be aware of? And it it isn't reliable, what are some other alternatives? I've heard people say good things about EasyStart, but I'm not too familiar with it.
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:56
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Sanctions Dec 27, 2023

Danil Zagibalov wrote:

Hello! I am a beginner translator in Russia, and, as you know, due to sanctions it is difficult to receive money from abroad for Russian citizens. I've read that SmartCAT can be used to receive payments from abroad, but I've also heard some say that it doesn't work in all cases.

Can anyone here confirm whether SmartCAT is reliable for receiving payments from other countries in Russia? Are there any limitations to it that I should be aware of? And it it isn't reliable, what are some other alternatives? I've heard people say good things about EasyStart, but I'm not too familiar with it.


I see the sanctions are working. It's nothing personal and I wish you good luck with your future career as a translator (if, in fact, that is what you really are) but for now, you probably can't move money into Russia from somewhere else - unless you are a very rich oligarch, in which case you can probably move money around anywhere you want to.

One question: how were you/are you still able to pay for your Proz membership?



[Edited at 2023-12-27 16:04 GMT]


Monica RW
 
Danil Zagibalov
Danil Zagibalov
Russian Federation
Local time: 22:56
English to Russian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I don't have ProZ membership Dec 27, 2023

Tom in London wrote:

Danil Zagibalov wrote:

Hello! I am a beginner translator in Russia, and, as you know, due to sanctions it is difficult to receive money from abroad for Russian citizens. I've read that SmartCAT can be used to receive payments from abroad, but I've also heard some say that it doesn't work in all cases.

Can anyone here confirm whether SmartCAT is reliable for receiving payments from other countries in Russia? Are there any limitations to it that I should be aware of? And it it isn't reliable, what are some other alternatives? I've heard people say good things about EasyStart, but I'm not too familiar with it.


I see the sanctions are working. It's nothing personal and I wish you good luck with your future career as a translator (if, in fact, that is what you really are) but for now, you probably can't move money into Russia from somewhere else - unless you are a very rich oligarch, in which case you can probably move money around anywhere you want to.

One question: how were you able to pay for your Proz membership?

[Edited at 2023-12-27 15:44 GMT]


I've never paid for any membership. You can register here for free.

Regarding sanctions, you don't really have to be an oligarch to avoid them. From what I know, quite a few people who have at least some funds can afford to travel to some neighboring country like Kazakhstan and open a bank account there (I don't know all the details though). For the Russian state and the well-off, it's really more of an inconveniece than some tough sanctions, so it's debatable whether they are really working.

Besides that, I found a thread from the March of 2023 discussing the very services I'm talking about here, which indicates that they may still be a viable option for a Russian freelancer to get work abroad.
https://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/361583-bank_transfer_from_germany_to_russia.html

[Редактировалось 2023-12-27 16:06 GMT]

[Редактировалось 2023-12-27 16:07 GMT]


 
Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 18:56
English to Russian
Smartcat Dec 27, 2023

Danil Zagibalov wrote:
Can anyone here confirm whether SmartCAT is reliable for receiving payments from other countries in Russia?
Smartcat really can do that, but the problem is that other countries can't. I mean that Smartcat itself can technically transfer money from abroad into Russia (provided that you have an account in a bank free from sanctions) but foreign businesses are prohibited from transferring money into Russia. If your client knows how and is ready to bypass their sanctions, then go ahead. Smartcat is safe for these purposes (from your standpoint as a user).


Danil Zagibalov
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:56
Member (2008)
Italian to English
For UK-based translators - just so that you know Dec 27, 2023

The HMRC (UK government) website says:

"Prohibitions and requirements imposed by the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.........the Regulations impose a number of prohibitions and requirements. In order to enforce these, the Regulations establish penalties and offences.......It is prohibited to intentionally participate in any activities if you know that the object or effect of them is directly or indirectly to circumvent the prohibitions imposed by the Regulations or to
... See more
The HMRC (UK government) website says:

"Prohibitions and requirements imposed by the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.........the Regulations impose a number of prohibitions and requirements. In order to enforce these, the Regulations establish penalties and offences.......It is prohibited to intentionally participate in any activities if you know that the object or effect of them is directly or indirectly to circumvent the prohibitions imposed by the Regulations or to enable or facilitate the contravention of those prohibitions."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/russia-sanctions-guidance/russia-sanctions-guidance
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philgoddard
 
Danil Zagibalov
Danil Zagibalov
Russian Federation
Local time: 22:56
English to Russian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Dec 27, 2023

Stepan Konev wrote:

Smartcat really can do that, but the problem is that other countries can't. I mean that Smartcat itself can technically transfer money from abroad into Russia (provided that you have an account in a bank free from sanctions) but foreign businesses are prohibited from transferring money into Russia. If your client knows how and is ready to bypass their sanctions, then go ahead. Smartcat is safe for these purposes (from your standpoint as a user).


I see.

Well, it's somewhat disappointing to hear that. I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so soon.

Still, thank you for these clarifications. I just couldn't find much information on these limitations from other sources.


 
Evgeny Sidorenko
Evgeny Sidorenko
Russian Federation
Local time: 18:56
English to Russian
+ ...
it's all totally legit and possible Dec 28, 2023

SmartCAT can absolutely do that. Customers from other countries make payments to SmartCAT, and then the platform makes the payment to the user's account. It doesn't matter where either of them is located. I don't know how it's technically arranged inside the platform and could care less. I guess the bypass is that they do not pay directly to a Russian entity. I just today received a payment for a project from a client located in the US (at least it says in their profile). The sanction-related li... See more
SmartCAT can absolutely do that. Customers from other countries make payments to SmartCAT, and then the platform makes the payment to the user's account. It doesn't matter where either of them is located. I don't know how it's technically arranged inside the platform and could care less. I guess the bypass is that they do not pay directly to a Russian entity. I just today received a payment for a project from a client located in the US (at least it says in their profile). The sanction-related limitations SmartCAT has are related to certain Russian banks (3 of them as I recall) to which accounts/cards they will not withdraw the funds from the platform, but there's plenty of others you can use.Collapse


 


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Using SmartCAT to receive payment from abroad in Russia







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