Still there are 10 to 12 countries in the world that are not connected with SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, says the CEO of a German financial services.
'Some countries, including North Korea, Somalia and Yemen are not connected with the SWIFT,' Armin Gerhardt CEO of EFiS EDI Finance Service AG told recently to the Islamic Republic News Agency on the sidelines of the 'Banking and Business Forum Iran Europe'
'More than 9,000 banks in more than 200 countries across the world are directly or indirectly connected together through SWIFT,' Gerhardt added.
He said that SWIFT is the only global provider of secure financial services for inter-bank connection.
'Other available systems are considered local and provide far less coverage compared to SWIFT,' he said, answering a question on other parallel systems, including CIPS or the China International Payment System.
'The interbank payment system provided by China is not a parallel to SWIFT but it can complement it,' said CEO of EFiS EDI Finance Service AG whose company offers services for payment transactions, treasury and securities.
Located in Dreieich near Frankfurt, the company focus in addition to SWIFT service for companies and banks.
The second meeting of Banking and Business Forum Iran Europe took place in Tehran from March 5 to 7.
After the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the removal of Western-imposed sanctions against Iran, the country has been reconnected to SWIFT.