New technologies transform cross-border payments space

By Anna Fedorova

A key player in this space is Swift, which rolled out its global payments innovation (gpi) initiative in 2017 with the aim to create a fast and frictionless cross-border experience.

So far, the service has already been adopted by more than 270 banks worldwide, allowing banks and corporates to quickly send and receive money internationally, with end-to-end tracking, lower fees and greater transparency.

However, Swift does not intend to stop here, with an ambitious plan for a range of further innovations by 2020.

Harry Newman, head of banking at Swift, says: “Over the next couple of years, we will move towards global adoption and at the same time we will have a steady roll out of services. Those are, for example, launching a payment pre-validation service and financial institution transfers.”

Most recently, Swift has collaborated with ACI Worldwide to launch two new services – ACI Swift gpi data service and ACI Swift gpi connect – aiming to make it easier for banks to fully integrate Swift gpi into their systems.

Swift’s Newman says take-up of the service in emerging regions such as China has already been significant, with banks beginning to see the benefits of the new technology.