The head of the Russian Central Banking System Administration, Ala Bakina, said that 177 financial institutions from 24 countries are currently participating in the Russian financial messages system “SPFS”, which was developed as an alternative to the Swift global payment system (Swift).
Bakina confirmed, in a speech to the Duma Council (the lower chamber of the Russian parliament), yesterday, that friendly countries have shown interest in the SPFS despite the current circumstances.
She added that 18 other foreign institutions from 4 countries joined the Russian financial messages system in 2024, bringing the total number of participants to 177 institutions from 24 countries alongside Russia.
Bakina confirmed that the “SPFS” system guarantees communication between banks in a “closed and safe” way.
Several Russian banks were excluded from the Swift system following the outbreak of the Crimea crisis in 2014, after which Moscow developed its SPFS, which began to test and use it with selected countries before its official launch in December 2017. Western sanctions on Russian banks through Swift intensified after the Russian war on Ukraine in February 2023.
By 2022, it was reported that 70 banks from 12 countries joined the SBS system. In 2023, sources indicated that 20 countries had joined this system, in a move aimed at reducing dependence on the US dollar in international trade.
Through the expansion of the SBS system, Russia is seeking to enhance financial cooperation with countries and provide alternatives to Western financial systems, especially in light of the sanctions imposed on them. However, this system faces challenges related to attracting more countries and financial institutions to join it, in addition to achieving integration with existing global financial systems.
