25 COUNTRIES JOIN RUSSIA’S PAYMENT SYSTEM AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SWIFT

A total of 177 financial institutions from 24 countries are now participating in Russia’s financial messaging system (SPFS), which was developed as an alternative to the global payment system (SWIFT), according to Alla Bakina, head of the National Payment System Department at the Central Bank of Russia.

Speaking before the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, yesterday, Bakina stated that friendly countries have shown interest in SPFS despite the current circumstances.

She added that 18 more foreign institutions from four countries joined Russia’s financial messaging system in 2024, bringing the total number of participants to 177 institutions from 24 countries.

Bakina emphasised that SPFS ensures communication between banks in a “closed and secure” manner.

Several Russian banks were excluded from SWIFT following the Crimean crisis.

In 2014, Moscow developed its own payment system, SPFS, which it began testing and using with select countries before officially launching it in December 2017.

Western sanctions on Russian banks through SWIFT have intensified in recent years due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a global network that connects banks and financial institutions to securely exchange information about financial transactions. Think of it like a super-secure messaging system for money movers. Founded in 1973 and based in Belgium, it doesn’t actually move money itself but provides the standardized codes and instructions—like the SWIFT code you might see on an international wire transfer—that banks use to process payments efficiently.

Over 11,000 institutions in more than 200 countries rely on it, handling millions of messages daily. It’s crucial for international trade, remittances, and keeping the global economy humming.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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