Rosswift to broaden scope of activities due to SPFS and Chinese CIPS, changes name to Rosfincom

MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) - The scope of activities of ROSSWIFT, the Russian National SWIFT Association, will expand to include the CBR's SPFS Financial Message Transmission System and the National Chinese Bank Transfer System known as CIPS, or the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, and other infrastructure organizations.

"We inform you that in connection with the current changes in the geopolitical situation and new challenges facing the Russian banking community, including in the field of financial information transfer, the ROSSWIFT committee, in agreement with the regulator, has decided to expand the activities of the association by consolidating all market infrastructure participants, including the Bank of Russia's SPFS, SWIFT, CIPS and others," ROSSWIFT said in a statement.

The association also plans to change its name to Rosfincom, the Russian National Association of Participants in Financial Communications.

Both decisions are subject to approval by a general meeting of the association which is scheduled for April 19, 2023.

According to the SWIFT charter, in each country represented in this community, a national group of SWIFT members and a group of SWIFT users are created, according to materials on the ROSSWIFT website. In Russia, the organization representing the interests of both groups and acting on their behalf is ROSSWIFT. It was established in 1995 and is a non-governmental, non-profit organization.

Due to the tense geopolitical situation, the topic of Russia's possible disconnection from SWIFT has repeatedly arisen. These conversations first began in 2014 after the first anti-Russian sanctions. Since then, this issue has been periodically raised and discussed at different levels.

In 2022, as part of sanctions, a number of large Russian banks were disconnected from SWIFT.