Page 120 - RusRPTMar23

8.1.7 Banks specific issues
All banks of Russia and over 100 banks in several other countries have been connected to Iran’s financial telecommunications system, known as SEPAM, obviating the need for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), an Iranian official said. Speaking to Tasnim, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iran for international affairs said the Iranian banks do not need to use SWIFT for financial transactions anymore. Mohsen Karimi said all banks across Russia, all branches of Russian banks in other countries with access to SPFS (a Russian equivalent of the SWIFT financial transfer system) and 106 non-Russian banks in 13 countries are now connected to SEPAM. Since the Russian system for the transfer of financial messages - SPFS - has been linked with Iran’s SEPAM, whoever has access to the Russian network can now connect with Iranian banks, and vice versa, he added.
The number of cases of money thefts from bank accounts in Russia in 2022 decreased for the first time in seven years, dipping 15.31% to 877,000, the Bank of Russia reported on February 14, 2023 the volume of transactions without the consent of customers increased by 4.29% in 2022 compared to 2021 amid active development of new remote payment services and the growth in the volume of money transfers (+39%, to 1,458.6 trillion rubles ($19.7bn)) using electronic payment means (payment cards and other electronic means of payment). According to the Bank of Russia, in 2022 the average amount of one transaction without the consent of a personal account holder was 15,320 rubles ($207), which is 30% more than in 2021 (11,800 rubles ($160)). As for the accounts of legal entities, this indicator amounted to 166,910 rubles ($2,263).
120 RUSSIA Country Report March 2023 www.intellinews.com