MINSK, 6 September (BelTA) – Belarusian banks will connect to the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). It is China's alternative to the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) system, BelTA learned from First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolai Snopkov.
Nikolai Snopkov remarked that getting Belarusian banks to connect to China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System will be an important part of Belarus-China cooperation. Belarusbank will be the first Belarusian bank to connect to the system. Other financial institutions will be connected later on.
CIPS is an alternative to the SWIFT system, Nikolai Snopkov explained.
Belarus will also embrace the international payment system UnionPay. It was established back in 2002. The State Council of China and the People's Bank of China were the initiators of its creation.
Belarusbank is expected to start offering UnionPay cards in December. Belarusians will be able to use the cards to pay inside the country, in China, and in more than 100 other countries across the globe, Nikolai Snopkov said.
