SWIFT’s gpi Gains Ground In Instant Payments

Cross border payments — faster, and streamlined, dominated payments infrastructure headlines this past week.

As reported, a new service that debuted from global messaging platform SWIFT will help deliver global instant payments, integrating SWIFT gpi into domestic instant payments systems. The combination means that instant international payments will feature fee and FX transparency for senders.  The announcement this week also spotlighted ubiquitous instant cross border payments on a global scale. There also will be predictability for how end clients’ accounts are credited.

SWIFT has said that the service will be available to banks’ end customers across a broad swathe of enterprises, from large multi-national companies to small- and mid-sized enterprises and will also serve retail and eCommerce platforms. In one set of trials, conducted through the New Payments Platform, and spanning 17 banks, payments were done between Australia and China in 18 seconds.

Harry Newman, Head of Banking, at SWIFT said: “We will be discussing with the MIs involved in the trials how to progress to live operation and invite all domestic real-time payment systems to come and join in this exciting venture. The technology is in place, it is proven and it is now a reality that cross-border payments can be as fast as domestic payments.”

In other partnerships, SWIFT also said this week that it partnered with Equiniti Business Payment Services, which is the international payments division of Equiniti Group. The collaboration centers on delivering a range of payment methods across a range of speeds while validating data. Customers will be able to stop and recall payments and can also speed resolution of failed payments, according to a release.

Separately, Bottomline Technologies announced that new financial services firm Vive is offering real-time payments from Bottomline. As has been reported Bottomline’s SaaS-based solution was launched in July in partnership with Starling Bank, and uses application programming interface (API)-led technology for round the clock direct connection to the Faster Payments Scheme.

In India, The Economic Times said that JPMorgan has brought seven banks to its blockchain platform that will help streamline cross border payments. The banks include ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. The platform is known as IIN and the site stated that the seven banks’ joining up represent the largest number of FIs joining a live application of blockchain technology. Other banks include Yes Bank, Federal Bank of India and Canara Bank.

“We are encouraged by the huge interest from the seven major banks in India to join our IIN initiative,” said Madhav Kalyan, CEO, JPMorgan Chase Bank, India, adding “As we look to address the challenges banks face in cross-border payments pertaining to friction points caused by multiple hops through the payment chain when further information is required.”