Central Bank of Russia – Digital Currencies Could Make SWIFT Outdated

As per the Central Bank of Russia, the arrival of cryptos could create a massive shift in the manner in which money is sent and received across the world.

In this regard, Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), states that as many as 30 central banks are studying cryptos, with many of them intending to roll out in the forthcoming five to seven years.

Skorobogatova states that the digital variant of fiat currency could be extremely capable that the global payments network i.e. SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications), which boasts of roughly 11,000 financial institutions and facilitates more than 33 million trades on a daily basis, may be out of demand soon.

Skorobogatova said:

“Then we can deal with direct integration issues. In this case, SWIFT it may not be necessary, because it will be a different kind of technological interaction.”

Currently, Russia is in the process of developing a digital variant of the Russian ruble. As per CBR, the digital ruble should have characteristics such as high speed, reliability, simplicity and low cost, while remaining adequately safe for offline and online mode of payments.

The central bank has not announced any launch date so far, but trials are anticipated to start by the beginning of 2021. Top officials in Russia have clarified that the digital currency would facilitate global remittances after countries roll out their own version of digital currencies.