Russian authorities are planning to change the whole payment system SPFS (analogue of SWIFT) to blockchain, the source close to Bank of Russia said.
According to the media source "Izvestia", SPFS may be transferred to the blockchain system to guarantee the maximum protection of all financial transactions. As for the data form the distributed register, it will be impossible to delete it, and all the information will be always automatically updated for all system members with every eventual change that will occur.
It is still unclear whether regulator will use its own developments on the blockchain system or the existing Etherium platform for SPFS.
"What is more, SPFS in case of using distributed registry technology can become even more reliable than SWIFT," - the chief analyst of Teletrade Petr Pushkarev said to "Izvestia".
Becoming reliable means becoming more secure. In addition, secure build-up means being more resistant to hacks and other security concerns that have took place recently.
These claims can be considered as major commitment from Russia in terms of interest in blockchain technology and its further exploiting. Loud statement back in 2017 of Grigory Marshalko, an employee at state security service (FSB), “Blockchain will belong to Russia” clearly demonstrates firm determination to develop this project.
Potential disconnection of Russia from SWIFT has been a cause of concerns for country's banks since 2014, when US and EU introduced the first round of sanctions against Moscow. In April 2018, the global financial messaging service provider SWIFT announced that the company plans to continue staying outside of politics.
By Anastasia Bugaychenko