Rosfinkom (formerly Rossvift)

In each country represented in the Community, a National User Group is established, uniting all users. In the Russian Federation, such an organization representing the interests of SWIFT users and acting on their behalf is the Russian National SWIFT Association (ROSSVIFT), which was registered in 1995 as a non-governmental non-profit organization. The main goal of the Association is to defend and protect the interests of Russian SWIFT users. The governing body of the Association is the ROSSVIFT Committee, which includes representatives of the Bank of Russia, as well as the largest SWIFT users (Sberbank of Russia, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, NSD, etc.).

History

2023: Name change

The Russian national association SWIFT changed its name and expanded, among other things, due to the Chinese system of bank transfers (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, CIPS). Rossvift announced this on March 17, 2023.

We inform you that due to the current changes in the geopolitical situation and new challenges, facing the Russian banking community, including in the field of transmission of financial information, the Rossvift committee, in agreement with the regulator, decided to expand the association's activities by consolidating all market infrastructure participants, including SPFS [Financial Messaging System] of the Bank of Russia, SWIFT, CIPS and others, as well as on changing the name of the association: "The Russian National Association of Financial Communications Participants (Rosfinkom)," the report says.

ROSSVIFT Association renamed to Rosfinkom

As part of the sanctions against Russia, a number of Russian banks, including Sberbank, VTB, Otkritie, Rosselkhozbank, were disconnected from the SWIFT international payment system in 2022. At the end of February 2023, Tinkoff Bank also fell under the sanctions of the European Union and the disconnection from the international system.

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 Rossvift website. In Russia, the organization representing the interests of both groups and acting on their behalf is Rossvift. It was established in 1995 and is a non-governmental, non-profit organization.

With its help, CIPS banks can make payments in yuan directly. At the same time, experts note that the Chinese are unable to completely replace SWIFT, and even may refuse to work with the Russians, fearing US sanctions.^[1]

2022

Notes