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VTB CEO calls for SWIFT to be fully abandoned in payments

The banker stressed that VTB is working as part of a pilot project for the digital ruble, including in the field of cross-border settlements

MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB, Russia’s second-biggest lender, Andrey Kostin, called for the international SWIFT system to be completely abandoned in payments.

"Digital payments are an integral part [of it is needed] to gain sovereignty, in particular in international payments. Although our opponents are also moving in this [direction]. SWIFT announced that they will also soon carry out digital payments through themselves. But we need to kill SWIFT in our settlements, we need to completely move away from it, and involve our friends in this too," Kostin said at the Data Fusion 2024 conference.

The banker stressed that VTB is working as part of a pilot project for the digital ruble, including in the field of cross-border settlements.

Earlier, the Bank of Russia’s Chief, Elvira Nabiullina, said that more than 98% of financial transactions within Russia currently pass through the Russian counterpart to SWIFT - the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS).

The Bank of Russia’s SPFS has become the main channel for the exchange of financial information when conducting domestic Russian settlements on correspondent accounts. By the decision of the Bank of Russia, in order to reduce risks, from October 2023, all Russian banks are required to use SPFS or similar Russian systems when exchanging financial information on domestic transactions.

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