Rosbank Launches Inter-National Payment System Using Crypto Assets

Rosbank launched a cross-border payment system. (Photo; Doc. TheMoscowTimes)

JAKARTA - Rosbank, one of Russia's largest banks, is rumored to have launched a new cross-border payment system that uses crypto assets.

According to a Vedomosti report, the bank has tested transactions with personal clients and corporates. Although no digital assets have yet been disclosed which will be supported by the bank, the Russian fintech group B-crypto will be responsible for the technical aspects of the new protocol.

To use this service, clients must go through a KYC (Know Your Customer) verification process with banks and B-crypto, as reported by the RBC Group. Alexey Voylukov, vice president of the Russian Bank Association, in the report revealed that crypto-focused cross-border payments are generally offered by small banks, while large-scale banks have not adopted similar services.

However, the Deputy Chairperson of the Russian Bank, Vladimir Chistyukhin, stressed that cross-border payments are not expected to be a full solution to international payments. This shows that banks maintain a cautious approach to the use of crypto assets in cross-border payment systems.

At the end of last year, the US Treasury gave sanctions to Rosbank and its owner, Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's richest people. The sanctions are an attempt to limit Moscow's ability to fund the war against Ukraine.

In a RBC Group report, Eduard Davydov's lawyer from Emet Law Firm stated that the new cross-border payment system has the potential to be a way for Rosbank to avoid sanctions that have been imposed on him.

Along with this move, Rosbank became one of the first major banks in Russia to take steps to adopt crypto assets in cross-border payment services. This shows a slow but definite change in the bank's view of blockchain and crypto technology, although it remains within regulated and careful limits of its use.