Putin favours creation of independent global payments system

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the possibility of creating a system of international payments independent of external interference.

It is possible to create a new system of international payments,... independent of banks and interference from third countries," he said at the AI Journey (AIJ) conference, Gazeta.ru reports.

According to Putin, it could be created based on digital currency technologies and distributed registries.

The Russian leader criticised the current system of international payments because it is controlled by "a narrow group of countries" and cited as an example the eastern hawala system, which has been providing mutual payments long before the advent of banks. According to him, it is still functioning today.

The Russian president expressed confidence in the possibility of developing "something similar", as "no one likes the diktat of monopolists".