Russian international payments platform A7 has announced a service that would let customers pay foreign invoices with USDT while recipients receive money through conventional bank transfers.
Called A7 International, the service is aimed mainly at businesses involved in foreign trade, although individuals will also be eligible. The company announced a fixed transaction fee of 0.3%.
The proposal comes shortly after U.S. authorities imposed sanctions on the A7 Network over allegations that its payment infrastructure helped move funds for sanctioned entities.
A7 Plans to Connect USDT Payments With Traditional Banking
According to an October 12 announcement distributed through Chainwire, customers would fund payments using Tether’s USDT stablecoin. A7 would then arrange a bank transfer to the overseas recipient in the required currency.
The arrangement would allow suppliers to receive conventional payments without accepting or managing cryptocurrency themselves.
However, several operational details remain undisclosed. A7 has not identified the banks involved, the supported currencies or the process for converting USDT into fiat money. It also has not clarified whether its 0.3% fee includes currency conversion costs and intermediary banking charges.
A presentation featuring PSB Bank chairman Petr Fradkov and A7 CEO Ilan Shor was scheduled for October 13 at 13:13 Moscow time. The announcement did not provide a separate date for general customer access or identify the initial operating markets.
Company Claims a Growing Role in Russian Trade Payments
Established in 2024 with the involvement of PSB Bank, formerly known as Promsvyazbank, A7 provides settlement services for companies engaged in international trade.
The company says it serves approximately 15,000 customers and processes around 2,000 transactions a day. It also claims operations spanning more than 100 countries.
According to A7’s figures, its infrastructure handled approximately 19% of Russian companies’ cross-border trade settlements in 2025. These figures are company claims rather than independently established measures in the supplied reporting.
Its existing services include international payments, digital financial assets and promissory notes. Russian rating agency ACRA assigned the company an AA(RU) rating with a Stable outlook in October 2025.
U.S. Sanctions Raise Questions About Settlement Arrangements
The announcement follows U.S. Treasury action against the A7 Network on October 1.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the network as a significant transnational criminal organization. Separately, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed restrictions involving affiliated payment agents.
According to FinCEN, companies described as A7 Sub-Agents processed more than $17 billion in transactions between January 2025 and June 2026.
U.S. authorities alleged that the network used third-country companies, intermediary businesses and misleading trade documents to disguise payments involving sanctioned Russian and Iranian entities as ordinary commercial transactions.
FinCEN’s proposed restrictions are distinct from OFAC’s sanctions designation. The former concerns a proposed rule for covered U.S. financial institutions, while the latter imposes blocking measures and transaction restrictions involving designated persons.
A7’s service announcement did not address those actions or explain how participating banks would handle the proposed settlements under applicable restrictions.
New Service Uses USDT Rather Than A7A5
A7 has previously been associated with A7A5, a ruble-backed stablecoin developed for international payments.
The token’s issuer reported $34.4 billion in transaction volume during the first half of 2026. However, researchers at Elliptic and TRM Labs questioned how much activity represented genuine payments between independent parties, citing transfers involving related wallets.
Researchers also identified declines in monthly activity following enforcement actions against associated exchanges.
The U.S. Treasury subsequently identified A7A5 as a blocked token issued by sanctioned company Old Vector LLC and said it supported international transactions within the A7 Network.
A7 International’s announcement instead specifies USDT for customer payments. It does not identify which blockchain networks will be supported or whether other digital assets will be accepted. Naming USDT in the proposal does not establish Tether’s participation in or endorsement of the service.
Russia Expands Its Cross-Border Digital Payment Framework
The proposal comes as Russia develops a broader framework for digital assets in foreign trade.
Legislation described in the supplied report covers cryptocurrency trading, custody and international settlements. It allows approved digital assets to support cross-border commercial transactions while retaining restrictions on crypto payments for domestic goods and services.
Russia has also explored central bank digital currencies for international settlement. Discussions with India have considered a mechanism involving the digital ruble and digital rupee.
For A7 International, the immediate unanswered questions concern banking partners, market access, conversion costs and how the service would operate under sanctions. Those details will determine how the announced payment model works in practice.
