A7, the fintech firm established in 2024 with backing from Bank PSB, will unveil a new cross-border settlement product called A7 International on 13 October. The service lets a foreign counterparty pay an invoice in USDT, with the recipient ultimately receiving funds through a standard SWIFT bank transfer in the required currency. The fee is fixed at 0.3 percent. Petr Fradkov, chairman of PJSC Bank PSB, and Ilan Shor, CEO of A7, will present the offering at 13:13 that day.
How the USDT-to-SWIFT conversion works
On paper, it's a two-step process. The payer sends USDT—a dollar-pegged stablecoin—to settle an invoice. A7 then handles the conversion and pushes the money out as a conventional SWIFT transfer in whatever currency the beneficiary needs. That means the receiving company doesn't have to touch crypto, hold a digital wallet, or explain a stablecoin line item to its accountant. The blockchain leg stays on the payer's side.
SWIFT, the Belgium-based messaging network that most banks use for cross-border payments, isn't being replaced here. It's the exit ramp. A7 is pitching the service as a way to speed up the messy middle: the part where a payment sits in limbo because correspondent banks are closed, compliance teams are slow, or the currency pair is illiquid.
Who can use it—and who it's really for
Foreign trade operators are the primary target. These are companies that buy and sell across borders and regularly deal with invoices denominated in currencies they don't hold. Individuals are also eligible, though the product's design clearly points at business-to-business flows.
The fixed 0.3 percent fee is the hook. Most cross-border payment providers layer on FX spreads, wire charges, and monthly account fees. A7 is advertising one number. Whether that holds up for small transfers—where a flat percentage can still feel steep—is an open question the company hasn't addressed in its announcement.
A7's footprint in Russian cross-border trade
A7 Group says it works with 15,000 clients and processes around 2,000 transactions daily. In 2025, roughly 19 percent of Russian companies' cross-border trade settlements ran through A7, according to the company. That's a significant slice of a market that has been reshaped by sanctions and bank de-risking over the past three years.
The firm is building what it calls an independent global payment infrastructure across more than 100 countries. Its product line already includes international payments, digital financial assets, and promissory notes. In October 2025, ACRA assigned A7 an AA(RU) credit rating with a stable outlook—a vote of confidence from a Russian rating agency, though not one that carries weight with Western regulators.
The timing and the people behind it
Fradkov and Shor will front the 13 October presentation. Fradkov's presence matters because PSB Bank was involved in A7's establishment, and the chairman's name on the event signals that the bank sees this as a core piece of its cross-border strategy, not a side project.
Shor, as A7's CEO, has been the public face of the company's push into international settlement. The choice of 13:13 for the reveal is a gimmick, but the substance is straightforward: a new rail for companies that need to move money across borders without relying solely on traditional correspondent banking.
What's still unclear
A7 hasn't said which currencies will be supported at launch, which countries the service will cover first, or how it plans to handle anti-money laundering checks on the USDT leg. Those details matter. A stablecoin-to-SWIFT bridge only works if compliance teams at the receiving banks accept the source of funds.
The 13 October event will be the first real test of whether A7 can answer those questions. Until then, the 0.3 percent fee and the 100-country footprint are promises, not products.
