Canada, the United States, Britain, and the European Union on Friday said they could act to exclude Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system in a further round of sanctions aimed at halting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Such a move could happen in coming days after officials in two European countries that had voiced reservations – Germany and Italy – softened their opposition against kicking Russia out of the world’s main international payments network, U.S. and European officials said. Doing so would hit Russian trade and make it harder for Russian companies to do business. SWIFT is a secure messaging system that facilitates rapid cross-border payments and is the principal mechanism for financing international trade. It would mark a further escalation […]