Not a Single russian Bank Has Been Able to Regain Access to SWIFT

After the largest russian banks were disconnected from SWIFT in 2022, the volume of financial traffic from russia decreased tenfold, while  domestic transactions through the system almost disappeared.

Since February 2022, 93 russian financial institutions have been disconnected from SWIFT. None of them has been able to regain access.

In 2022, russian traffic in the SWIFT payment system declined by 55.5 %, while  the number of messages sent by russian users decreased to 70 million. In 2023, russian traffic decreased  by another 65.7 % to 24 million. In 2024, it fell by 25.3 % to 18 million, and in the first half of 2025 – by another 6.6 % to 8 million messages.

Despite the kremlin’s statements about “stability”,  russian businesses are forced to look for workarounds: from cryptocurrencies and cash to netting and foreign accounts. This shows that Western sanctions are hitting the russian financial system, making it increasingly isolated from global markets.