SWIFT Lets Treasurers Track Global Transactions In Real-Time

With lack of visibility into the correspondent banking system a top challenge for B2B payments, SWIFT is rolling out a way for payers to track their cross-border payments in real time.

The company announced Tuesday (May 23) that its Tracker is now available to help businesses track global payments as they occur. The solution is part of the firm’s broader gpi initiative, a payments innovation focus.

SWIFT gpi targets companies with a global presence conducting cross-border transactions. The Tracker, the firm explained, offers an end-to-end view of those transactions, providing businesses with a notification when funds land at a recipient’s account for faster, more accurate account reconciliation and invoices. Using API technology, SWIFT’s Tracker links to global banking systems to boost visibility into payments.

“Uptake of SWIFT’s gpi service has been encouraging, and the addition of the Tracker capability can only help build momentum and accelerate adoption of the service in international payments,” said Ovum Principal Analyst David Bannister in a statement for SWIFT’s announcement. “The most common complaint from corporates is the lack of visibility on their payments’ status. With the Tracker capability, SWIFT gpi tackles that issue and will be a useful tool to help corporate treasurers to execute their core responsibilities.”

According to SWIFT, more than 110 financial institutions across the globe have committed to gpi and will have access to the Tracker service for their corporate treasury customers.

“Today’s announcement is a significant step toward a game-changing experience for corporates the world over,” said SWIFT Chief Marketing Officer Christian Sarafidis in a statement. “By taking advantage of the right technology, at the right time, with the right players behind us, SWIFT has successfully helped correspondent banking reach a significant milestone in its evolution.”

In another statement, SWIFT gpi Program Manager Wim Raymaekers said that SWIFT gpi will be introducing additional technologies, like blockchain, and added solutions moving forward.