{video} The development of blockchain and digital currencies shows that in the future, global settlements might take place on a new technological platform rather than on the SWIFT payments network, said the deputy head of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Pankin, talking to the RIA Novosti news agency on Monday. Pankin said future alternatives to SWIFT will be more advanced and not dependent on being a monopoly. The emergence of such alternatives will be “not only a reaction to the current geopolitical situation but a response to the need to modernize the existing payment methods using the top digital ... (full story)