Member states have spent the last days discussing who to include in the SWIFT blacklist and how to minimise the economic blowback against the bloc.ĭuring negotiations, over half of member states wanted Sberbank and Gazprombank, Russia's first and third largest banks, to be equally expelled from the electronic system but consensus could not be reached as some capitals expressed their concern, Euronews understands. It sends over 42 million messages per day that facilitate domestic and international business deals.Īlthough the system is by far the leading intermediary for financial transactions, it is not the only one.Īlternatives to SWIFT include China's CIPS, India's SFMS and Russia's SPFS, as well as more rudimentary methods such as tax and phone messages, which are time-consuming and pose security risks.Ībout 50% of Russia's bank are connected and use SWIFT, while others rely on SPFS and other bilateral instruments.
Today, SWIFT, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, links more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 counties and territories. Since SWIFT is a Belgium-based company and therefore subject to EU law, the sanctions mean the seven banks will be completely prohibited from using the system to send payment messages to any other bank or institution connected to SWIFT anywhere in the world. "Today's decision to disconnect key Russian banks from the SWIFT network will send yet another very clear signal to Putin and the Kremlin," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement.