SWIFT gpi Instant Goes Live In The UK

Belgium-headquartered payments solution provider SWIFT is introducing a new service for real-time cross-border payments and transfers called gpi Instant.

“This is an important milestone in our strategic ambition to help banks meet growing global demand for instant and frictionless cross-border payments,” David Watson, chief strategy officer at SWIFT, said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 2). 

He added that SWIFT’s gpi Instant targets four main issues: “speed, security, transparency and compliance.” SWIFT will continue collaborating with financial institutions to advance cross-border payments worldwide.

The activation of live gpi Instant connection gives users the ability to make payments instantly across borders, any time of the day or night.

The new service is being rolled out initially in the U.K. market; Lloyds Banking Group is the first to go live. Global payments routed to the U.K. through Lloyds are processed transparently and securely within seconds.

The gpi Instant service works by connecting SWIFT gpi, the high-speed cross-border rails, with real-time domestic infrastructure — in this case, the U.K.’s Faster Payments. It enables banks to use existing infrastructure to provide better service 24/7, with faster speeds, clarity on fees and, crucially, predictability on when an end beneficiary’s account will be credited. 

The gpi Instant service is the result of collaboration between SWIFT, banks and payment infrastructures. The pilot is going live after several trial runs earlier in 2020 with Lloyds, Barclays, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, DBS, Wells Fargo and BBVA.

“The gpi Instant service is set to be a game changer in cross-border payments,” said Ed Thurman, Managing director and head of global transaction banking at Lloyds Banking Group.

He added that Lloyd’s institutional clients already use SWIFT’s faster payments services, and the addition of SWIFT gpi Instant brings visibility for those transactions on the SWIFT gpi Tracker. 

SWIFT announced in September that it was launching a strategy to improve global payments and securities processing and give financial institutions the ability to deliver instant transactions. SWIFT said its platform is faster and more transparent and predictable.