LONDON (Middle East Monitor) - 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 emphasized 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.