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Financial Sanctions, SWIFT, and the Architecture of the International Payment System

Author

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  • Marco Cipriani
  • Linda S. Goldberg
  • Gabriele La Spada

Abstract

Financial sanctions, alongside economic sanctions, are components of the toolkit used by governments as part of international diplomacy. The use of sanctions, especially financial, has increased over the last 70 years. Financial sanctions have been particularly important whenever the goals of the sanctioning countries were related to democracy and human rights. Financial sanctions restrict entities—countries, businesses, or even individuals—from purchasing or selling financial assets, or from accessing custodial or other financial services. They can be imposed on a sanctioned entity's ability to access the infrastructures that are in place to execute international payments, irrespective of whether such payments underpin financial or real activity. This article explains how financial sanctions can be designed to limit access to the international payment system and, in particular, the SWIFT network, and provides some recent examples.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Cipriani & Linda S. Goldberg & Gabriele La Spada, 2023. "Financial Sanctions, SWIFT, and the Architecture of the International Payment System," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 31-52, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:37:y:2023:i:1:p:31-52
    DOI: 10.1257/jep.37.1.31
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    Cited by:

    1. Jabari, Leyla & Salem, Ali Asghar & Zamani, Omid & Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza, 2024. "Economic sanctions and energy efficiency: Evidence from Iranian industrial sub-sectors," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Mikhail Mamonov & Anna Pestova & Steven Ongena, 2023. "'Crime and Punishment'? How Banks Anticipate and Propagate Global Financial Sanctions," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 23-59, Swiss Finance Institute.
    3. Benchimol, Jonathan & Palumbo, Luigi, 2024. "Sanctions and Russian online prices," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 225, pages 483-521.
    4. Hanin Khawaja, 2025. "Beyond Singularity and Multipolarity: Functional Fragmentation in the International Monetary System," Working Papers 2514, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    5. Okafor, Luke & Khalid, Usman & Badeeb, Ramez Abubakr, 2025. "Do the effects of unilateral and multilateral sanctions on energy poverty differ in target economies?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    6. Klarin, Anton & Sosnovskikh, Sergey, 2025. "Leveraging friendshoring in response to sanctions: Essential insights for global managers," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 673-685.
    7. Steven Rosefielde, 2024. "Impairing Globalization: The Russo-Ukrainian War, Western Economic Sanctions and Asset Seizures," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-11, September.
    8. McGuirk, Eoin & Trebesch, Christoph, 2025. "Geoeconomics and conflict: A review and open questions," Kiel Working Papers 2302, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
    9. Charles Needham & Maria Needham, 2023. "The Global Financial Crisis During the Years 2008 and 2009," Journal of Business Administration Research, Journal of Business Administration Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 12(2), pages 45-53, October.
    10. Liu, Xue-Ying & He, Wei & Duan, Hai-Peng & Fan, Rui, 2024. "The impact of financial sanctions on economic policy uncertainty: Global evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Liu, Xue-Ying & Zhao, Xin-Xin & Ma, Kun & Sharma, Susan Sunila, 2024. "The impact of financial sanctions on ESG performance of target countries," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • N20 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N40 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - General, International, or Comparative

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