Russian authorities are planning to transfer the country's money transfer system to Blockchain technology in 2019 according to a report in Izvestiya.
Sources close to the Russian central bank told the media outlet that the Financial Communications Transfer System (SPFS) would be converted to a blockchain system. SPFS is the Russia equivalent of SWIFT. It was developed and implemented in 2014 following Western threats to withdraw SWIFT from Russia as part of sanctions for the invasion of Crimea. Russia developed its own version of Visa, called Mir, for the same reason.
This threat wasn't carried out in the end but is still under discussion. SPFS exists as an alternative system, and 582 Russian banks use the system as standard. The remainder keeps it in reserve should SWIFT be withdrawn.
According to the article, the transaction costs of the Russian system are lower than those of SWIFT. In February of this year, the central bank announced that the system had been extended to cover all countries of the European Economic Area - Marina Frolova, Deputy Director of Rosbank, told Izvestiya that SPFS must expand its user base in order to be considered a valuable alternative to SWIFT.
Tamara Kasyanova, managing director of a local audit company, said that transferring to blockchain technology will attract more people to use the new system.
Maxim Osadchy, head of the analytical department of a local bank, said: "The use of blockchain technology will undoubtedly increase the level of protection in relation to hacker attacks."
Here he refers to hack attacks which have been suffered by SWIFT users. For example, a Russian bank lost 6 million USD in February 2018 as a result of a hack involving SWIFT, and hackers attempted a larger heist on Globex in December 2017. The Bangladeshi central bank lost 101 million USD in this way in 2015.
A major world power transferring its entire national payment system to blockchain technology is a fairly significant development regarding cryptocurrency and mainstream acceptance.
The Central Bank of Russia is planning to replace their domestic version of SWIFT transactions with blockchain in 2019.
This is big & it won’t be the last. ??— Pomp ? (@APompliano) May 4, 2018
Russian authorities are planning to transfer the country's money transfer system to Blockchain technology in 2019 according to a report in Izvestiya.
Sources close to the Russian central bank told the media outlet that the Financial Communications Transfer System (SPFS) would be converted to a blockchain system. SPFS is the Russia equivalent of SWIFT. It was developed and implemented in 2014 following Western threats to withdraw SWIFT from Russia as part of sanctions for the invasion of Crimea. Russia developed its own version of Visa, called Mir, for the same reason.
This threat wasn't carried out in the end but is still under discussion. SPFS exists as an alternative system, and 582 Russian banks use the system as standard. The remainder keeps it in reserve should SWIFT be withdrawn.
According to the article, the transaction costs of the Russian system are lower than those of SWIFT. In February of this year, the central bank announced that the system had been extended to cover all countries of the European Economic Area - Marina Frolova, Deputy Director of Rosbank, told Izvestiya that SPFS must expand its user base in order to be considered a valuable alternative to SWIFT.
Tamara Kasyanova, managing director of a local audit company, said that transferring to blockchain technology will attract more people to use the new system.
Maxim Osadchy, head of the analytical department of a local bank, said: "The use of blockchain technology will undoubtedly increase the level of protection in relation to hacker attacks."
Here he refers to hack attacks which have been suffered by SWIFT users. For example, a Russian bank lost 6 million USD in February 2018 as a result of a hack involving SWIFT, and hackers attempted a larger heist on Globex in December 2017. The Bangladeshi central bank lost 101 million USD in this way in 2015.
A major world power transferring its entire national payment system to blockchain technology is a fairly significant development regarding cryptocurrency and mainstream acceptance.
The Central Bank of Russia is planning to replace their domestic version of SWIFT transactions with blockchain in 2019.
This is big & it won’t be the last. ??— Pomp ? (@APompliano) May 4, 2018
FAQs
Swift has been actively involved in DLT and tokenization experiments. It participates in RLN trials and has conducted tests for cross-border CBDC interoperability and interoperability for digital securities with multiple public blockchains.
Can I use blockchain in Russia? ›
Although cryptocurrencies remain banned in Russia for payments or other transactions, digital financial assets (DFAs) – blockchain-based tokens operating similarly to securities – are legal, and Russian companies have begun to actively explore this niche.
What is cross-border money transfer using blockchain technology? ›
Cross-border blockchain payments are based on the security-enhancing principles of cryptography, distributed ledger technology, and decentralization. Every network participant has a copy of the distributed ledger, and each transaction is validated by a consensus mechanism before being added to the distributed ledger.
What is the payment system in blockchain technology? ›
Blockchain payment systems employ consensus algorithms to verify and record transactions. Through methods like proof of work or proof of stake, participants in the network collaborate to validate the authenticity of transactions and add them to the blockchain, ensuring immutability and transparency.
Is blockchain replacing Swift? ›
It's unlikely that SWIFT's dominance over the transfer of financial information and messages will be broken soon, but its research into interoperable blockchains and tokenization provides major hope toward reducing the inefficiencies caused by intermediaries — such as delays in transactions, additional costs and fees, ...
Who are the partners of Swift blockchain? ›
Swift collaborated with several major financial institutions on the experiments, including Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citi, Clearstream, Euroclear, Lloyds Banking Group, SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) and The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.
How to send crypto from Russia to the USA? ›
If you're a Coinbase customer, you can also send crypto to any email address in 100+ countries instantly and for free. Just open your Coinbase app, select the crypto and an amount, enter the recipient's email address, and hit send.
What is the Russian government cryptocurrency? ›
In a private meeting, Vladimir Putin announced in October 2017 that Russia would be issuing its own state-sponsored cryptocurrency—the Digital Ruble. The Digital Ruble is issued by Russia's Central Bank as a CBDC and managed by the Russian government.
What is the name of the Russian cryptocurrency? ›
Bank of Russia Picks Banks to Pilot Digital Ruble
The regulator expects the prototype of the CBDC in December and piloting it in 2022.
Does blockchain receive wire transfer? ›
You can also call or visit your bank in-person for support with wire transfers. Please make sure to include your unique reference number with your wire. Without it, the wire transfer could fail. That's it, your deposit should arrive in your Blockchain.com Exchange Account in 1-3 business days.
A cryptocurrency is a form of digital money. Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Tether, and Cardano are examples. Units of cryptocurrency are called coins or tokens. A blockchain is a distributed peer-to-peer database that has strict rules for adding data.
What is the difference between cross chain and blockchain? ›
Even though these terms are frequently used interchangeably, they actually refer to two different concepts. While multi-chain technology allows the use of many blockchains inside a single ecosystem, cross-chain technology allows the assets to move between different blockchain networks.
What is an example of a blockchain transaction? ›
If you want to make a transaction on a blockchain, for example, sending a payment to someone you know, you can't just write down a transaction in a block - you need an entity called an account to do it for you. So, you give the account a message, which is signed to show that it's from you.
Do you have to pay to use blockchain? ›
Blockchain.com charges a processing fee to cover the costs of transferring your crypto from the wallet to an external address. If possible we may batch transactions together to achieve greater efficiency. However, on-chain fees change based on network activity.
How do you transfer money using blockchain? ›
Select your Blockchain.com Account, Exchange Account or enter any other crypto address you'd like to send funds to and click Next. Enter the amount and click on Network Fee to select between Regular or Priority fee. Click "Preview Send" and then Confirm to finalise the transaction after double checking the details.
What is the difference between swift and blockchain? ›
Also, as we found out today blockchains process 6 times more transactions per second compared to SWIFT. Moreover, blockchains have been in existence for just over a decade, while SWIFT reigned as the sole international money transfer method for over 50 years.
What is the difference between Swift and blockchain technology? ›
Blockchain technology is emerging as a potential alternative to SWIFT. With its decentralized, secure, and transparent nature, blockchain could offer a more efficient way to handle cross-border payments.
Does blockchain accept bank transfer? ›
You can also call or visit your bank in-person for support with wire transfers. Please make sure to include your unique reference number with your wire. Without it, the wire transfer could fail. That's it, your deposit should arrive in your Blockchain.com Account in 2-5 business days.
Is Swift used for anything other than iOS? ›
Cross platform
Swift already supports all Apple platforms and Linux, with community members actively working to port to even more platforms. With SourceKit-LSP, the community is also working to integrate Swift support into a wide-variety of developer tools.
