A7 announced plans to become a global alternative to SWIFT

The efficiency of the Russian A7 international settlement system exceeded the performance of the Russian SWIFT segment in 2021. Igor Gorin, First Deputy General Director of A7, gave such an assessment at the Caucasian Investment Forum.

According to him, according to the company's internal research, modern transaction processing mechanisms provide higher reliability and speed than traditional international channels before the transformation of the financial market.

"We have a lower ratio of stuck problem payments than in 2021," Gorin said. "We hope that over time, A7 will become a worthy global alternative to SWIFT, because our goal is to give people a new international payment system free from politics and excessive compliance."

According to the expert, the company uses two key tools to build an international settlement infrastructure in which speed, quality and reliability are key indicators. The first of these is a promissory note. A7 issues promissory notes in dollars, yuan, euros and dirhams, and upon request it can be denominated in any currency. Their profitability is 10% per annum in nominal currency.

The second instrument is the A7A5 stablecoin, which was the first in Russia to receive the status of a digital financial asset last year. A7A5 is pegged to the ruble in a 1:1 ratio and is today the largest non-dollar stablecoin with a market share of 44%.

Created by the bank, PSB A7 is Russia's leading cross-border settlement system. As of last year, the company held about 19% of the Russian foreign trade market. More than 2 thousand international payments are made through the system every day, and more than 10 thousand participants in foreign economic activity are its clients. The company's infrastructure covers more than 100 countries.