The Russian government, through the president of its central bank, Elvira Nabiúllina, invited banks and financial institutions from other countries to join the SPFS, the Russian equivalent to the SWIFT international payment system.
The invitation comes after the European Union agreed to disconnect several Russian banks from the SWIFT system as part of sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine. Countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Japan are expected to join this measure, which would deal an unprecedented blow to the Russian economy.
SWIFT, an acronym for the Society for Worldwide Interbank and Financial Communications, is a system that enables the connection for sending and receiving payments from more than 11,000 banks in 200 countries. Leaving Russian banks out of the SWIFT system is a way of isolating them from the international financial system.
However, Russia considers that it can counteract the measure by asking the banks of its allied countries to activate the system they are proposing.
“SPFS can replace SWIFT on the Russian territory and other participants will also be able to connect from abroad,” Nabiúllina said in a note published by the state news agency RT.
According to Russia, more than 20 banks in Belarus (an ally of President Vladimir Putin) are connected to SPFS.
TASS news agency notes that negotiations are under way for Chinese banks, as well as the German and Swiss subsidiaries of large Russian banks, to join the SPFS system.
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