IBM Revs Up Real-Time Payment Processing

IBM is turning real-time payments into a volume business.

The company announced yesterday (Oct. 13) that IBM Financial Transaction Manager (FTM) can now enable banks to converge their Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment operations onto a single hub to improve operational efficiency and expedite transactions.

With FTM already supporting the transmission of 30 percent of financial messages across the SWIFT network — which enables financial institutions around the globe to send and receive information in a secure, standardized and reliable environment — the new capability further expands the reach of the network worldwide.

“Banks face considerable challenges in coordinating the many accounts and multiple bank communication channels that are needed to ensure a seamless flow of money across their global networks. These include excessive costs, process inefficiencies to cash management and related financial operations,” said Keith Melton, director of IBM Commerce Payments, in a press release. “The first digital, international hub will make it easier for customers to convert payments and help our banking clients take on the competition from foreign currency exchanges.”

“By offering our international customers integrated interfaces for all communications protocols using IBM’s proven FTM software, we can rapidly deliver new services to clients and help ensure compliance,” Ulrich Buch, CTO of ABK-Systeme — which is integrating FTM into the E.F.I.S. electronic back office system to provide a payment processing platform for more than 80 different formats and standards — commented in the release. “By linking to SWIFT, we can deploy the latest architecture and the entire spectrum of communications protocol required by our clients.”

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