Russian media reports say the Central Bank of Russia has registered a new payment system called HELLO into the national register of credit solutions. 

According to the press service of the Russian financial regulator, the new payment system was placed on the national register of credit solutions on April 15.

The development comes as Russia seeks to circumvent the growing number of sanctions announced by the United States and its allies over its ongoing “special military operation” in Ukraine.

As part of penalties, some of Russia’s top banks have been cut off from SWIFT, the international payment system.

TASS says Russian lender TransKapitalBank will operate payment infrastructure services of the new system, which brings together payment firms and service providers involved in money transfer transactions.

TransKapitalBank has holdings in foreign financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation and German Investment Corporation DEG.

Payment system HELLO is a set of payment services and institutions that facilitates money transfer transactions. 

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Russia urged the BRICS group of emerging economies, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to integrate their payment systems and extend the use of national currencies.

Last month, Russia-based Gazprombank launched a new payment offering after major payment firms, including MasterCard and Visa, halted their services in Russia in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.