Turkey may join the Russian analogue of SWIFT

The System for Transfer of Financial Messages has interested Ankara

Turkish economists are studying the possibility of working with the Russian analogue of the international payment system SWIFT — the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS, owned by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation), an informed source said.

Building of the Bank of Russia
We know that there are countries that conduct transactions with Russia through this system
source

The Turkish side should analyze their experience in order to avoid secondary sanctions from the West. In the US, financial organizations were threatened with disconnection from SWIFT if they were found to be helping Russia circumvent economic restrictions.

In early 2024, Turkish companies exporting goods to Russia faced refusals from banks to accept payments from the Russian Federation. Relevant departments, including the Ministry of Trade of Turkey, joined in solving this problem.

Until 2014, almost all banking operations passed through SWIFT. However, later the West announced that it would disconnect Russia from the system. In response, the Central Bank developed the SPFS. Over the past two years, the system has been actively developing, and participants from 20 countries of the world have joined it.