The SWIFT System: A Focus on the U.S.–Russia Financial Confrontation

... fundamentally address the threat of the SWIFT system to Russia, the Russian Central Bank launched its own System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) at the end of 2014. The operating principle of the SPFS system is kept similar to that of the SWIFT system so as to reduce the Russian customers’ concerns and need to change their usage habits. This system was put into use in 2015, and by 2018, there were 403 Russian companies using this system as an alternative to SWIFT in case Russia is cut off from the SWIFT. At present, the SPFS system is mainly used by financial institutions ...