After significant improvement in July and August, real cashless spending by non-residents continued to grow in September, according to a macroeconomic update by TBC Capital. The investment bank said preliminary tourism indicators point to strong momentum, while the number of flights recorded at Georgian airports remains above last year’s level despite a slight slowdown in recent days.
TBC Capital said foreign currency inflows from two major sources - exports and tourism revenues - continued to increase in August. While stronger exports previously helped offset weaker tourism during the peak of the conflict in the Middle East, both sources are now showing strong dynamics, the report said.
The bank’s short-term estimate of net foreign currency inflows, which combines trade in goods, tourism revenues and remittances, also increased in August. TBC Capital said this trend is consistent with its expectation that Georgia’s current account balance, excluding reinvested earnings, will improve further in the third quarter of 2026.
The report also highlighted a decline in remittances in August, driven mainly by lower transfers from Russia following EU sanctions on the Russian payment system Zolotaya Korona. Money transfers from Russia fell 88% month-on-month to $5.1 million, while total rapid money transfers declined 8.2% year-on-year. TBC Capital noted a similar effect in Kyrgyzstan, where transfers fell 73% month-on-month to $2.2 million. The bank said remittances could gradually shift to alternative systems, as happened after sanctions against Unistream in 2023, although the pace and extent of such substitution remain difficult to predict.
