The new, tenth package of European sanctions will include the disconnection of four Russian banks from the SWIFT network of international payments, including Alfa-Bank, Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank. This is reported by EUobserver with reference to the draft of a new sanctions package.
In July 2022, Tinkoff Bank stopped SWIFT transfers abroad. The bank claims that it worked to the end to preserve transfers via SWIFT, but 95% dependence on foreign payment infrastructure forced the company to take this step. Tinkoff Bank claims that its efforts were not enough, and the risks to the provision of the service are caused by the actions of "Western partners".
Alfa-Bank, in turn, found itself under blocking sanctions, which made foreign currency transfers abroad impossible.
However, banks have previously avoided definitive disconnection from the system. Now SWIFT is disabled:
- Sberbank
- VTB
- Rosselkhozbank
- Credit Bank of Moscow
- Bank opening"
- Sovcombank
- Bank Rossiya
- Promsvyazbank
- Novikombank
- VEB.RF
Disconnection from SWIFT means the inability to make any international transfers – both to Russian accounts and from them to foreign ones. The only option is to transfer money within Russia to a bank account that is not disconnected from the SWIFT network, and then make a transfer to a foreign account with commission losses.