A steady interest from foreign organizations and companies in Russia’s financial messaging system, known as SPFS, has been noted by the Russian Central Bank. At a parliamentary session in Moscow, Alla Bakina, head of the SPFS department at the Central Bank, presented some statistics. According to her, the number of foreign users increased by 18 last year, with participants from four countries. As of now, the financial communication network is used by 177 foreign organizations from 24 countries, excluding Russian users. Bakina, speaking to Interfax, stated, “Foreign partners from friendly countries still express interest in working with Russia’s payment infrastructure, despite the current situation.”
She emphasized that the system involves closed and secured transaction channels. The Russian SWIFT equivalent was established in 2014, following the first Western sanctions imposed on Russia after the annexation of Crimea. By 2018, all Russian banks had joined the SPFS. As of the end of 2023, the system had 556 users, with over a quarter of them, 159, being foreign users from 20 countries. In June 2024, the European Commission banned EU banks operating outside of Russia from using the SPFS. In November 2024, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a warning to foreign financial institutions, stating that involvement in the Russian system could be considered a “red flag” and those who do so should be prepared for more aggressive measures from the authorities.