The Bank of Russia will transit its System for transfer of financial messages (SPFS – the Russian analogue of SWIFT) to blockchain in 2019, Izvestia reports with reference to their own sources.

In particular, Izvestia notes that the distributed ledger technology will raise the security level of the system, provide maximum transparency of transactions, and increase the interest of banks and companies towards the Russian SWIFT.
 
It is unclear yet if the regulator will use its own product with basis on blockchain or the Etherium platform. The Bank of Russia has revealed they are considering different ways to apply the blockchain technology, including transfer of financial messages. The regulator’s representative has refused to make any additional comments.

Experts believe blockchain will increase SPFS’s protection from hacking and the system might become even more secure than SWIFT.

The Bank of Russia launched SPFS in December 2014. The project was carried out after the talk of SWIFT possibly cutting off Russian banks began in September 2014 on the level of the European Parliament. That possibility was considered later by foreign ministers of European countries as well.

It is worth reminding that reports have appeared in early 2018 that banks and companies from members of the Eurasian Economic Union might join the “alternative to SWIFT”.

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