Russia, Iran coordinating their payment systems as SWIFT alternative
Russia, Iran coordinating their payment systems as SWIFT alternative
Russia and Iran are organizing cooperation between the Russian financial messaging system and Iran's Electronic Financial Messaging System (SEPAM) as an alternative to making payments through SWIFT for protection against third countries' sanctions, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters Friday.

“To protect bilateral trade and economic ties from the sanctions of third states, we are taking measures to expand direct settlements, use national currencies, and to establish interaction between the Russian financial messaging system and Iran’s SEPAM, as an alternative to making payments through SWIFT”, Ushakov said.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, known as SWIFT, announced in November that it would sever ties with individual Iran-based banks for the sake of the “global stability of the system,” without elaborating, Sputnik reported.

SWIFT, an international messaging network for communications between banks, suspended access for several Iranian-based banks in November in the wake of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

US sanctions on Iran started in May 2018 after its withdrawal from Iran’s nuclear deal dubbed ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Russia is one of the parties involved in JCPOA which emphasizes on maintaining this deal.

  • source : Mehrnews