Russia says it will no longer disclose the names of organizations that use its alternative to the SWIFT payment system

The names of people who are participating in the alternative payment system will no longer be disclosed by the central bank.

Some Russian banks have been banned from the banking system of the international organization, the SWIFT, as a result of the sanctions against the country. Cross-border transactions for Russia have been hampered by the ban.

The System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) is an alternative payment system set up by Russia.

Under the current conditions, we have decided not to reveal the list of organizations connected to SPFS. The Russian central bank said in an email that this list is available for users of the system. The institution stopped publishing a list of SPFS users on the website.

The Russian Central Bank governor said on Monday that most Russian banks and 52 foreign organizations have access to SPFS.

According to a report from Coface, banks from Germany, Switzerland, France, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, and Cuba were connected to SPFS.

Until there was a threat of being cut off from SWIFT, foreign partners weren't in much of a rush to join, but now we expect their readiness to be greater.

The SPFS was being considered by the Indian government for payments in rubles. India has been buying cheap Russian oil despite international sanctions and boycotts of products from the energy powerhouse. Russian oil accounted for 2% of India's total imports.