Life without SWIFT: what will change in bank transfers

In Russia, from October 1, 2023, banks will not be able to use the SWIFT system when making money transfers within the country. According to the new rules approved by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, financial and credit organizations are required to use only domestic services and infrastructure for such operations. Why this is necessary and whether something will change for bank card holders, Moskovskaya Pravda found out from experts.

To understand this decision of the Bank of Russia, it is necessary, first of all, to look at the general trends in the disclosure of information about economic processes, and not only, carried out by the states of different countries of the world, notes a senior lecturer in the Department of International and Public Law of the Faculty of Law of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, candidate jurisprudence Elena Barakina.

– Over the past years, there has been a systematic closure of access to information, along with an increase in its role in all public relations. Possession of certain data makes it possible to influence the development of the state, or, for example, the analysis of information about economic ties and the most developed sectors of the economy is subsequently the basis for the imposition of sanctions, other steps that prevent positive changes in the country, the expert explains. — The SWIFT system is an international interbank system for transmitting information messages about completed transactions, controlled by countries unfriendly to Russia. Consequently, the implementation of financial transactions under transactions automatically discloses information on them for these entities, which can be used, respectively, against the Russian Federation. Thus, the decision of the Bank of Russia to ban the use of SWIFT is a reasonable measure of the regulator to protect the interests of economic entities and, in fact, the economic sovereignty of our country.

Stanislav Bovt, a financial analyst at the CMS group of companies, added that the decision of the Central Bank to ban SWIFT within Russia is the next stage of a program aimed at minimizing the transfer of domestic economic processes abroad.

— In 2014, the first step was already taken when the National Payment Card System was founded. The second step in 2018 was the creation of a financial messaging system (FSFS) of the Bank of Russia. The third step will be taken from October 1, 2023: it provides that information on transactions will be transmitted through its own banking systems, services of other organizations and through SPFS, the expert said.

In his opinion, practically nothing will change for the holders of accounts and bank cards in Russia, since the banks under sanctions have long solved the problem of transferring information through their own systems. In addition, they have another six months to adapt and refine them.

Oksana Savchina, associate professor of the PFUR Faculty of Economics, Candidate of Economic Sciences, agrees with this. After all, many Russian systemically important banks, in particular, Sberbank, VTB, FC Otkritie Bank, Rosselkhozbank, Promsvyazbank, Sovcombank, MKB and others, which account for about 70-80% of all transfers, have already been disconnected from the international market due to sanctions. interbank SWIFT system, however, the clients of these banks do not experience any difficulties when transferring within the country – they withdraw money from cards and accounts, replenish them, pay with them for purchases and make money transfers. In addition, the use of Russian payment systems is even more profitable for banks.

– In Russia, there are analogues of the international SWIFT system – these are SPFS, SBP (Fast Payment System) and others. At the same time, for example, the size of the commission for SPFS is much lower than for SWIFT. So, for one message through SPFS, the Bank of Russia charges from 80 kopecks to 1 ruble, and the cost of sending one message via the SWIFT system within the country is 0.0516 euros (about 4.25 rubles), the expert explained.

So there is a benefit. In addition, Russian financial and credit organizations, for the most part, have already adapted to work without SWIFT.

“There are both separate integrations between large banks, for transferring money directly, and, for example, the Fast Payment System, which unites all banks of the Russian Federation for the possibility of transferring to any bank by phone number,” reminded the fintech head with 20 years of experience in the largest Russian companies Kirill Ostrovsky. “Thus, nothing will change for ordinary cardholders. Customers of Russian banks will be able to continue paying with cards of any payment system within Russia.

Meanwhile, international transfers will still be able to be made via SWIFT by banks that have not yet been sanctioned. Basically, these are Russian subsidiary banks of foreign credit organizations.

Alena Bodrienko.

Collage of Moskovskaya Pravda.