What is Swift and why are leaders divided on banning Russia?
European Union foreign ministers are later on Friday expected to discuss banning Russia from the Swift payment network, which is pivotal for the smooth transaction of money worldwide.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has been pushing for a ban, telling the BBC on Friday: "Britain wants the Swift system to be turned off for Russia. But unfortunately the Swift system is not in our control. It is not a unilateral decision." Created in 1973 and based in Belgium, Swift links 11,000 banks and institutions in more than 200 countries.
Swift says it has no influence over sanctions and any decision to impose them rests with governments.Russian companies would lose access to the normal smooth and instant transactions provided by Swift. Payments for its valuable energy and agricultural products would be severely disrupted. To prepare for such a sanction, the Russian government created a National Payment Card System, known as Mir, to process card payments. However, few foreign countries currently use it.Removing Russia would hurt companies that supply goods to and buy from Russia, particularly Germany.
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