Russia, on the other hand, has been prepared for this possibility for years. Expulsion from SWIFT was originally proposed in 2014 in response to Russia’s incursions into Ukraine’s Donbas region, and the following year, Russia established its own local SWIFT counterpart, the System for Transfer of Financial Messages, or SPFS. China also has a competing system known as CIPS or Cross-Border Interbank Payment System. Neither of these technologies has the backing or international acceptability of SWIFT, but they may provide viable alternatives in the long run.
