WASHINGTON (Reuters), – Canada and the United States of America, Britain and Europe said Friday that they would consider excluding Russia from SWIFT, the global interbank payments network. The move is part of a second round of sanctions aimed to stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This could be done in the coming days, after representatives from two European countries – Germany (and Italy) – accepted that Russia would no longer be part of the main international payment network.

This would negatively impact Russian trade, and it will make doing business in Russia more difficult. SWIFT, a secure messaging platform that allows for rapid cross-border payments, is the main mechanism to finance international trade.

It will be the latest escalation in concerted Western sanctions against Russia that have been imposed on this week. This includes rare sanctions targeted at Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Friday.

After Russian forces launched an attack on another state in Europe on Thursday morning, Western countries are rushing to increase pressure on Moscow.

This week’s sanctions against Russia were issued earlier this week. They also targeted oligarchs and exports.

Roberta Metsola (President of European Parliament) said Friday that Russia being excluded from SWIFT might be subject to a new round of sanctions.

Italy was initially reluctant to move in this direction, but it said on Friday that they would not veto Russian proposals and promised to keep working with EU partners.

Germany has one of the largest trade flows in the EU with Russia. However, it is open to banning Russia SWIFT but needs to calculate its economic consequences, Christian Lindner, the Finance Minister, said Friday.

Justin Trudeau of Canada, Prime Minister, said that Russia must be expelled from the system. Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, called upon NATO members to immediately take action against Russia in SWIFT.

Josep Borrell, EU’s chief of foreign policy, said that a SWIFT decision could be made in “coming days”.

Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the White House, stated that Russia’s expulsion from SWIFT was “still an option” and emphasized President Joe Biden’s preference to work with allies.

A U.S. official who wasn’t authorized to speak out publicly said that further Western sanctions are expected in the event of Kyiv falling. Officials now think this could occur within days.