Economist: Belarus’ disconnection from SWIFT will not make the country’s financial system collapse

Sanctions are currently in force against the Belarusian banking system: the collective West is trying to weaken its payment functions by all means. There are even threats to disconnect Belarus from the SWIFT international payment system. Doctor of Economics Valery Bainev commented on how these measures could affect the country's banking system.

“Belarus’ disconnection from SWIFT will not lead its financial system to collapse. At present, Belarusian banks successfully use the Belkart-Mir system, for example – which is actually an expanded version of Belcart, which payment cards can be used not only in Belarus and Russia, but also in some other countries. The Chinese Union Pay system is also gaining momentum, and this indicates that a rather serious alternative to the Western systems that have conquered the financial market is gradually being built in the collective East,” the economist explained.

As noted by Mr. Bainev, Belarus has already switched to the use of national currencies in its relations with Russia, and a similar process is underway in co-operation with the EAEU member states, as well as China. “Meanwhile, it is necessary to take into account the specific situation in relations with other countries. As last year showed, Belarus has retained the possibility of conducting transactions and financial operations with the countries of the so-called collective East. Moreover, their volume is growing. For example, the trade turnover with the United Arab Emirates increased 25 times in just 10 months of 2022," he added.