After Russian banks barred from accessing SWIFT, Moscow's alternative payment system opens to global users
Russia’s central bank has decided to allow its domestic payment system to go international as many Russian banks have been disconnected from the SWIFT global payment mechanism following sanctions from the US and European Union. Even as Russia had the second largest number of SWIFT users after the US, the Financial Message Transfer System of the Bank of Russia (SPFS) has been gaining acceptance with already about 399 users. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina said that this payment system “will continue to operate smoothly.” The payment system, which until now has been catering only to the domestic users, was developed by the Central Bank of Russia since 2014 after the US government threatened to disconnect Moscow from the SWIFT system. Read more