Banks in Russia banned from using SWIFT for internal transfers

Russian banks have been prohibited from using SWIFT to transfer financial information when making payments within the Russian Federation, effective 1 October.

Source: Russian news agency Interfax

Details: The Bank of Russia requires banks to transmit information on domestic transfers only through the Russian Financial Message Transmission System (FMTS), as well as through their own banking systems or services of third-party Russian companies that provide transmission and storage of information on financial messages only in the Russian Federation.

However, this requirement does not apply to cross-border transfers as well as to cases of information transfer within the payment system to process customer applications for transactions using electronic payment means.

The Russian FMTS was introduced in response to the first wave of anti-Russian sanctions in 2014, which included a number of banks.

The news agency notes that the FMTS is similar to SWIFT, which provides uninterrupted transmission of financial messages in Russia and abroad.

Background: Microsoft stopped extending licences to Russian companies on 30 September.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!