Swift’s Global Payments Initiative Signs 73 New Banks

As of today, 73 new banks have signed on to Swift’s Global payments initiative. The goal of the project is to expand the payment services and experience for customers by upping the speed, transparency and predictability of cross-border payments.

The pilot of the program is focused on B2B payments and is already up and running. Banking officials from over 40 institutions around the world have also participated in workshops in various cities throughout this spring to help create a plan for correspondent banking called “the digital transformation of cross-border payments.”

With the new banks onboard, Swift’s initiative covers 75 percent of all cross-border payments crossing the network.

The program will provide customers with same day funds transfers, better transparency, more easily predictable fees and end-to-end payments tracking.

The tracking program is enabled by a “database in the cloud” where each transaction is monitored from the moment it is sent until it is confirmed, which is similar to tracking services provided by international shipping companies.

“This new payments tracker is a great example of collaborative innovation. For the first time, banks will be able to give their customers precise information about their payments, in real-time, including confirmation of credit to beneficiary’s account,” noted Wim Raymaekers, head of banking markets at Swift.