Iran, Russia resisting SWIFT hegemony over banks

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Feb 2023 00:23
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According to Mohsen Karimi, all Russian banks nationally and abroad have access to SPFS, and 106 foreign banks in 13 other countries are now connected to SEPAM.

A woman uses an ATM machine at a branch of the Bank Melli Iran, at the Grand Bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, June 10, 2020 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian official announced that all banks in Russia and more than 100 banks in numerous other nations have been linked to SEPAM, Iran's financial communications system, dispensing of SWIFT which had hitherto monopolized financial telecommunication.

The Central Bank of Iran's deputy governor for international relations told the Iranian news agency, Tasnim, that Iranian banks are no longer required to use SWIFT for financial transactions.

According to Mohsen Karimi, all Russian banks nationally and abroad have access to SPFS (the Russian version of the SWIFT financial transfer system), and 106 foreign banks in 13 other countries are now connected to SEPAM (Iran's local interbank telecom system).

Since the Russian SPFS, has been linked with Iran's SEPAM, anyone with access to the Russian network can now connect with Iranian banks, and vice versa.

Karimi clarified that the SWIFT standards are the foundation upon which messages between SEPAM and SPFS are sent.

Rustam Zhiganshin, the Russian Trade Representative in Iran, presented plans for the establishment of a SWIFT-like bank-to-bank information and payment system between Russia and Iran in October 2022.

Last February, Russian banks were excluded from the SWIFT interbank payment system by the decision of the European Commission and its allies.

The maneuver was intended to hit the country's banking network and its access to funds via SWIFT, which is pivotal for the smooth transaction of money worldwide.

This type of solution already exists, particularly in China. The country launched its international interbank payment system in 2015, called CIPS.