Iran to rejoin SWIFT soon

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Central Bank of Iran governor Valiollah Seif said today that Iran is working on a plan to rejoin the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a key step towards restoring the Islamic republic’s capacity to do business normally with other countries.

SWIFT was instructed to discontinue its communications services to Iranian financial institutions subject to European sanctions in March 2012. The disconnection went into effect on 17 March that year.

Iranian banks affected by the disconnection will automatically be able to reconnect to SWIFT following Implementation Day, the moment specified in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in July when nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the US, the UN and the EU will be lifted. This be before the end of 2015.

“In past, we had good relationships with European banks and Iranian banks can use SWIFT once JCPOA enters into effect,” Seif was quoted as saying in Tehran today. Seif was also reported as saying Iran will have a unified exchange rate no more than six months after the relaxation of sanctions.