The PSB called for a change in the traditional mechanisms for conducting cross-border payments

Against the background of the global geopolitical situation, the structure of foreign trade transactions and settlements on them is changing, said Mikhail Dorofeev, Deputy Chairman of the PSB, at the Eastern Economic Forum.

"The whole world has already become convinced that Western countries are trying to use the international settlement system not as a tool for ensuring free trade, but as a kind of neo—colonial cudgel and sanctions weapon," Dorofeev said, speaking at the session "Possible solutions for cross-border payments and international settlements in the new reality."

According to him, there are many countries that are not under Western sanctions, but they do not have the opportunity to use the international settlement system, because the specifics of their economies do not meet the "formal" requirements of this system. "This means that the time has come to review the global financial and settlement institutions, of course, we are talking about the SWIFT system," Dorofeev stressed.

He recalled that last year the PSB created the fintech company A7, which conducts cross-border settlements with any country in the world. The turnover of this settlement mechanism has exceeded 7 trillion rubles in a year of operation. The infrastructure allows for from 1.5 thousand to 2 thousand operations per day.

According to the deputy chairman of the PSB, the service is in demand not only in Russia, other countries are also showing interest in it. "The demand for an alternative to traditional financial settlement instruments is growing all over the world. For the convenience of servicing companies, we are opening offices throughout Russia. Today, in addition to the capital, eight regional offices have already been opened in major cities, including new regions," Dorofeev said, adding that A7 branches will appear in two African countries.

He added that international trade is no longer the prerogative of large enterprises and financial conglomerates, and small and medium-sized businesses have taken a significant share in this area. Banks, under the influence of new requirements and in the context of the transformation of the global financial system, are developing new solutions for free international settlements, Dorofeev concluded.