They've yet to identify which Russian banks will be excluded from SWIFT. This will be worth watching. Like a Financial Experiment in real life vs a computer simulation. Maybe we find out we don't need a centralized monopoly called SWIFT.
SWIFT is the octopus of the private global banking system. Run out of the EU of course.
More than 11,000 financial institutions around the world use SWIFT, making it the backbone of the international financial transfer system.
According to the Russian National SWIFT Association, Russia has the second-largest number of users after the US, with some 300 Russian financial institutions in the system, more than half of Russia’s financial institutions.
SWIFT is a cooperative company under Belgian law. On its website, it says “it’s owned and controlled by its shareholders [financial institutions] representing approximately 3,500 firms from across the world”.
"Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for the Asia Pacific at Natixis in Hong Kong, said banning Russia from SWIFT would be a serious blow to the country."
“[It’s a big deal] since no debt or trade finance payments can be made. It is bigger than stopping EU imports of gas from Russia,”
As an alternative to SWIFT, Russia has set up its own network, the SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages).