Russia edges closer to being banned from SWIFT banking system as more EU countries support move

• Russia is a few steps closer to being ejected from SWIFT, the global banking system.
• More EU countries, including Italy and Cyprus, voiced their support for the measure.

Russia could be a step closer to being expelled from the global banking system SWIFT as more EU countries said they favored its ejection.

The news comes as countries vowed to impose harsher economic and financial sanctions, following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine early Thursday morning.

SWIFT, a Belgian communications system, was launched in 1973 to serve as a neutral platform for banks to chat about financial transfers, transactions, and trades. Removing Russia could be economically catastrophic, as Insider's Ben Winck reported.

The service links more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories. It also hosted 42 million messages a day on average in 2021, according to Bloomberg.

Despite initial opposition, some countries have begun to change their views on opposing Russia's removal from Swift.

For example, Germany's foreign minister said earlier on Friday she did not believe a ban was the best course of action, per Reuters. But the news agency suggested that Germany had softened its stance later on Friday, noting that finance minister Christian Lindner said: "We are open, but you have to know what you're doing."

As well as Germany, the countries seemingly encouraging the SWIFT ban include Italy, Cyprus, and Hungary.

Successfully barring Moscow from the SWIFT system would require agreement among the 27 EU countries.

In tweets on Saturday, Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, discussed EU countries' support for a SWIFT ban for Russia.

He highlighted Italy's support, saying: "Call with my Italian counterpart @luigidimaio. Full solidarity with Ukraine. My colleague assured me that Italy will support banning Russia from SWIFT."

Enrico Letta, ex-prime minister of Italy, also confirmed the news in a tweet.

This was followed by a tweet stating Cyprus' position. Kuleba said: "We did it. Cyprus confirmed it will not block the decision to ban Russia from SWIFT."

Cypriot finance minister Constantinos Petrides addressed the move, stating: "In the name of EU unity and solidarity to #Ukrainian people #Cyprus has NOT objected to ANY EU sanctions including cutting Russia off Swift. Everything is on the table."

Hungary's stance was also made clear by Mateusz Morawiecki, prime minister of Poland. He said Saturday: "Today I spoke again with the Prime Minister of Hungary, V. Orbán. And he once again assured me of his support for far-reaching sanctions against Russia. Including about blocking the SWIFT system."

The move to kick Russia out of the SWIFT system is favored by UK prime minister Boris Johnson, per Bloomberg. The US, however, is yet to match its support for such a move.