The Bank of Namibia (BoN) says it is currently exploring alternative means of facilitating payments to Russia after some of the Russian banks were expelled from the SWIFT payment platform as part of global sanctions for the on-going Ukraine conflict.
The expelled institutions are VTB Bank, Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiya Bank and Sovcombank, as well as VEB, Russia’s development bank.
The development means any transaction emanating from Namibia and destined for Russia will not be processed.
“As you might be aware, Russian commercial banks have been removed from the Swift banking network and as a result, the Bank of Namibia is unable to process payment instructions to affected financial institutions on behalf of the Government. However, the Bank is exploring other alternatives,” BoN Spokesperson Kazembire Zemburuka told The Brief.
Zemburuka noted that local businesses with Russian ownership were also affected by suspension of Russian banks.
“Clients of affected commercial banks in Russia are similarly affected unless they have other correspondent banking channels to effect payments.”
Already Namibian students studying in Russia have been affected by the development.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a high-security intermediary system that allows banks and institutions around the world to carry out financial transactions – that is, ordinary payments – among each other.
The system was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in La Hupe, Belgium and links more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 counties and territories, making it an essential piece of our globalised, fast-paced economy.
