A SWIFT ban for Russia may sound important but there are many ways the country can get around it, according to experts

In recent weeks, Russia has been hit with a list of economic sanctions from Western states.

One of the first sanctions imposed by the US, EU, UK, Canada, and other Western allies was barring select Russian banks from the global banking system.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is a Belgian system that was launched in 1973. It is a neutral platform for banks to talk about financial transactions.

In a joint statement last month, Western allies said the move will target selected Russian banks in order to ensure that they are disconnected from the international financial system.

There are many ways that Russia can get around the ban.

It sounds good to be able to say that we have restricted communication with these banks, but in reality, Russia has got a number.

The deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia said that cutting Russia off from the SWIFT banking system wouldn't be a catastrophe, but would make bank communication more difficult.

Tilahun told Grace Dean he had the same feelings. He said that blocking transactions from the Central Bank of Russia was the most significant sanction so far and overrode the ban on the international financial messaging service.

According to Thomas, there are other ways to move money out of Russia.

In the whole scheme of things, it may have been a start, but I don't think with just SWIFT sanctions alone you can get the desired result that people are looking for.

Thomas said that moving money from one country to another doesn't have to be done with the help of the international money transfer service. He said that Russia can easily transfer funds from their local banks in Russia to their foreign branches. They can use global clearing systems on both sides to be able to move money with very little impact.

Financial transactions can take place over Russia if foreign banks are still operating there.

Klein thinks that Europe should impose harsher sanctions on Russia to create a more significant effect.

He said that all banks should block transactions from any Russian bank.

The recent sanctions against Russian oligarchs are critical, according to Thomas.

Thomas said that restricting them restricts their ability to fund the Russian military effort.

The sanctions imposed on Russia are still uncertain. There will be walking back of a number of these sanctions once the war between Russia and Ukraine is over.

The sanctions are only focused on stopping the conflict, so if the conflict ends, they will be removed from a Western perspective.