Russia has reached a milestone when it comes to the utilization of national currencies in its payments structure. According to numbers reported by the Central Bank of Russia, 53.5% of all payments destined for imports were settled using the Russian ruble for the first time in history, signaling a change in how the nation conducts business with its trade partners.

This is not the first time this has happened, as numbers indicate that 50.3% of all imports were paid for with rubles in December. Nonetheless, experts state that this trend can grow in the future, due to the benefits that it presents to both providers and importers.

When dealing with Asian countries, 49.6% of the import payments were settled in Russian rubles, while only 10.2% of these payments were made using hostile currencies. Latam also followed suit, registering an all-time high of 45.8% payments made with Russian rubles. Also, for the first time, less than half of these payments were routed with toxic currencies, a success given the links of the region to the U.S.

One of the main advantages of these payments is that they are free of unilateral sanctions, allowing both providers and importers to conduct business freely. Irina Pykhtina, Senior Vice President of PJSC Rosdorbank, told Izvestia about the benefits of this new payment scheme:

Such payments are not tracked, which is especially important for companies that have been sanctioned, as well as for many others, given the wide range of products affected by the restrictions.

Furthermore, there are savings as the parts involved don’t have to account for losses in the form of currency.

Nonetheless, this approach also has its drawbacks, as providers can face challenges due to the ruble’s low convertibility and high volatility. However, this is tackled by pegging the contract prices to more stable currencies, such as the yuan or dirham.

The digital ruble and the upcoming BRICS payment system are expected to increase these numbers even further, opening a global alternative to the traditional SWIFT-U.S. dollar duo.

Read more: Russia Expects BRICS Payment Network to Go Global—SWIFT’s Monopoly Under Threat

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