SWIFT System
About SWIFT System
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication was founded in Brussels in 1973 by 239 banks from 15 countries. SWIFT provides a standardized messaging system for international wire transfers. Before SWIFT, international transfers used TELEX, which was slow and error prone. SWIFT revolutionized cross border payments. By 2024, SWIFT connected over 11,000 financial institutions in 200 countries. SWIFT has become a geopolitical weapon, with the US and EU cutting Russian banks off from the system in 2022. The SWIFT cutoff was described as the nuclear option of financial sanctions. Alternatives to SWIFT including Chinas CIPS and Russias SPFS have been developed but have not matched SWIFTs dominance.
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