SWIFT Payment System
The West blocked access to SWIFT for several Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB, shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February last year to target Russian markets, making it difficult for Russian companies to do business.
SWIFT supports financial transactions worldwide. Indian companies are using the global payments system SWIFT to settle dollar payments in Russia, a business official said on Wednesday, even though many Russian banks are banned from the network due to Western sanctions. The West blocked access to SWIFT for several Russian banks, including Sberbank and VTB, shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February last year to target Russian markets, making it difficult for Russian companies to do business. SWIFT supports financial transactions on a global scale. “We use SWIFT for dollar payments,” said the official, who did not want to be named, when asked about the payment gateway used to pay the Russians.
The official did not provide further details about the banks that Indian customers use to pay dollars. India’s Ministry of Commerce and Finance did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. last year, according to official data released on Wednesday.
Last month, Reuters reported that India’s Russian oil imports reached 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 9.2% from December, while Moscow remained the top monthly supplier of oil to New Delhi, Iraq and Saudi Arabia followed. Arabia. India has been trading with Russia using different currencies since the war in February last year. “Bills are paid in different currencies, including dollars, euros, dirhams,” said director of foreign trade, Santosh Kumar Sarangi. journalists.
Indian refiners are paying for most of the Russian oil they buy from buyers in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates in dirhams instead of US dollars, Reuters reported.
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