In view of the tensions between Russia and the West, the possibility of excluding Russia from the international banking payment system is discussed again and again. This could hit Russia hard, according to Harley Balzer from Georgetown University in an article for the Atlantic Council. Although Russia and China started developing their own payment system (SPFS) a few years ago, only twelve foreign banks are using it. Economist Cynthia Roberts had previously argued in the New York Times that with the SPFS, Russia and China have an alternative that could be a back-up option for Swift under pressure. For payments within Russia, 20 percent of all payments are already processed via SPFS, and around 400 Russian banks use the system.
However, kicking Russia out of the Swift would likely result in serious disruption to the global financial system. The designated CDU chairman Friedrich Merz therefore warns against excluding Russia from Swift. “Questioning Swift could be the atomic bomb for the capital markets and also for goods and services relationships,” said the former manager of the world’s largest asset manager Blackrock of the German Press Agency: “We should leave Swift untouched.” Merz said: ” I would see massive economic setbacks for our economies too if something like this happened. It would hit Russia.”
But Germany, as a strong export nation, would also “damage itself considerably”. He fears major repercussions not only on the European-Russian trade in services and goods, but also on global trade. Swift is the system for processing international money transactions for goods and services. Excluding Moscow “would basically break the backbone of this international payment system.”
For Swift, the matter is very delicate because she has so far been able to keep the organization out of all global political conflicts. A spokesperson for Swift, citing the organization’s independence, told the Berliner Zeitung: “Swift is a neutral, global, non-profit organization established and operated for the benefit of its community of more than 11,000 institutions in 200 countries. The decision to impose sanctions on countries or individual institutions lies solely with the relevant government agencies and legislators.” (mm)