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Digital generated image of multiple numbers of yellow credit cards organised into pattern (Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images)

Control over financial messaging systems can constitute a decisive advantage (Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images)

SWIFT and CIPS: Finance as the new global battleground

Capital flows, payment systems and reserve currencies are now instruments of state power.

Pascal vander Straeten

10 March 20265 min read

Imagine the year 2030. A major energy exporter finalises a large contract for natural gas, settling the transaction not in dollars, but in a digital yuan, transferring assets seamlessly over a China-led payments infrastructure. Global banks, eager to maintain access to key commodities and markets, accelerate their integration with alternative settlement systems. In response, Western policymakers face a stark new reality: exchange-rate stability and liquidity, once taken for granted, have become negotiation points. Capital flows pivot, and the influence of traditional reserve currencies wanes as new alliances set the rules.

This scenario, no longer far-fetched, underscores the urgency of developing strategies now that will shape the architecture of financial power in the years ahead.

For decades, global markets operated under the assumption of capital neutrality. Investors prioritised balance sheets, central banks monitored inflation, and Western bonds were widely regarded as risk-free. This paradigm has shifted. In the current environment, geofinance directly connects financial power to state security. The freezing of bank accounts may now prove more effective than military intervention, while control over financial messaging systems constitutes a decisive advantage. As the distinction between financial markets and national security diminishes, the global financial system is increasingly weaponised.

Distinguishing geofinance from related disciplines is essential for understanding this landscape. Geopolitics addresses territorial concerns, geoeconomics examines trade and tariffs, whereas geofinance focuses on capital flows, encompassing financial institutions, bonds, reserve currencies, and payment systems.

This distinction is increasingly evident in contemporary risk assessment practices. Traditionally, risk management within financial institutions was structured to address so-called vertical risk. For instance, a property market downturn affects mortgage loans, an oil price shock impacts energy loans, and a recession increases defaults on retail credit. Consequently, capital buffers, Basel regulatory categories, and stress tests were all designed to address shocks that fit neatly within specific risk silos.

Today, risk shocks are increasingly horizontal in nature.

Governance frameworks are quickly occupied; when one actor hesitates, another fills the void.

For example, a tariff escalation between the United States and China affects not only exporters but also foreign exchange markets, collateral values, supply-chain finance, shipping insurance, cyber risk exposure, sanctions screening, and client liquidity simultaneously. A single geopolitical decision can now propagate through credit risk, market risk, operational risk, and reputational risk within days.

This context highlights the relevance of geofinance. Geofinance recognises that geopolitics is no longer an external factor but is now embedded within financial balance sheets. In addition to interest rates, payment systems, and reserve currencies, factors such as trade routes, international alliances, sanctions regimes, technology controls, and military tensions also influence funding costs, asset values, and liquidity access.

The war in Ukraine exemplifies such transformation. Although the conflict is primarily physical, profound changes are also occurring within financial systems. For instance, the decision by Western powers to freeze more than US$300 billion in Russian central bank reserves marked a pivotal moment. This action demonstrated that the dollar and the euro are no longer neutral instruments of global trade, but political assets subject to deactivation. Such measures have effectively established a financial iron curtain. While asset seizures for reparations have historical precedent – the UN Compensation Commission following the Gulf War, for example – those instances adhered to established legal frameworks. Now, debates increasingly rest on discretionary rules, which may undermine confidence in Western government securities and erode long-term trust in global markets.

This erosion of trust is accelerating the emergence of distinct and competing financial systems. SWIFT remains dominant, moving trillions of dollars daily for more than 11,500 institutions. China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) is expanding, now connecting banks across nearly 190 countries and settling payments. Despite longer settlement times and lower liquidity, CIPS offers countries such as Russia an alternative to Western-controlled systems. Consequently, nations are diversifying reserves and developing localised payment networks with allied states to mitigate exposure to policy uncertainty.

To move beyond the ineffective declarations of recent summits, the G20 should reaffirm its original mandate as a key technical forum for financial coordination. When founded in 1999, the G20 was a practical platform where finance ministers and central bankers developed standards for global stability, not a political stage. A comparable technical working group could establish technical guardrails, rather than binding rules, for the treatment of sovereign assets. These guardrails might include a clear legal classification of sovereign assets, setting notification protocols for asset freezes, and encouraging standardised disclosure of reserves. While technical guardrails cannot eliminate geopolitical tensions, they can reduce uncertainty and help maintain trust in the global reserve architecture, which is vital for international financial stability. The G20 dialogue would involve rival powers, but its principal advantage for Western countries is the opportunity to co-author global norms. Without sustained Western engagement – particularly from the United States – China has rapidly shaped the regulatory landscape across much of the Global South. Governance frameworks are quickly occupied; when one actor hesitates, another fills the void.

For middle powers such as Australia, the primary challenge is not to align with a particular bloc or withdraw into rigid trading arrangements, but to serve as a bridge within the evolving global order. This approach requires prioritising technical resilience over reactive decoupling. Singapore exemplifies this strategy in terms of financial statecraft by positioning itself as a neutral financial hub, maintaining connections to both the Western SWIFT system and China’s CIPS. This dual connectivity enhances Singapore’s resilience amid a fragmenting financial landscape and enables it to bridge Western and Chinese payment ecosystems. By investing in comparable dual connectivity, Australia can ensure its financial systems remain functional during geopolitical disruptions – elevating its financial architecture from a basic utility to a cornerstone of national resilience.

About the author

Pascal vander Straeten

Pascal vander Straeten has a passion for geopolitics and global finance.

Topics

Economy