International

The European Union has decided on the introduction of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. As part of the new restrictive measures, access to the SWIFT international financial system will be closed not only for Sberbank, but also for two more Russian banks – “Rosselkhozbank” and “Moscow Credit Bank” (MCB). These measures are expected to come into effect on June 3.

Sberbank has already reported that the disconnection from SWIFT will have almost no effect on customers in Russia. They, as before, will be able to conduct transactions within the country, but sending money abroad will be limited. Against the background of Sberbank’s disconnection from SWIFT, Tinkoff Bank sharply raised the commission for transferring dollars and pounds sterling to other countries – it increased at least twice and ceased to be free for Tinkoff Premium and Tinkoff Private subscription holders.
     Most likely, disconnecting Rosselkhozbank and Moscow Credit Bank from SWIFT will also not affect customers who conduct transactions within the country (that is, receive and send money within Russia, pay for purchases at local outlets), but will make it impossible to transfer money from these banks to foreign financial institutions. In Russia, about a dozen banks that have fallen under the sanctions of the European Union and the United States have been disconnected from SWIFT, including quite popular ones – Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, Rossiya Bank and VTB.