Swift Helps UK Banks Speed Consumer X-Border Payments

Swift is working with four U.K. banking giants to improve cross-border consumer payments.

The initiative, announced Thursday (July 2), sees the global messaging network teaming with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest to improve international retail transfers.

“This framework represents an important step forward for the UK payments ecosystem,” Adam Bealey, Swift’s chief executive for the U.K. and Ireland, said in a news release.

“As expectations around international payments continue to rise, customers are seeking greater transparency, predictability and confidence throughout the payment journey. Enhanced visibility of payment processing and fees will play a significant role in delivering a more seamless, efficient and trusted cross-border payments experience for businesses and consumers.”

The release notes that the last decade has seen remittance flows from the U.K. increase significantly, offering a lifeline to cover things like everyday costs, tuition and housing.

The benefits of the new initiative, Swift said, includes the ability for recipients to get the full amount they expected, with no unexpected deductions or fees.

Money also arrives faster, in many cases within minutes, or potentially instantly with the support of local banking systems. It also lets senders track their payment until it arrives.

Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest will be among the first banks in the world taking part in the program, and the first in the U.K. Launched earlier this year, the program is supported by upwards of 60 banks in 25 countries, Swift said.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote earlier this year about the ongoing transformation happening within the cross-border payment system.

Although cross-border payments have been held back by the limits of domestic systems, that divide has begun to close, the report said, with real-time payment networks cropping up rapidly in major economies, from Europe to Southeast Asia to Latin America.

“More importantly, interoperability between these systems is improving,” PYMTS wrote. “Bilateral and multilateral linkages are enabling funds to move directly between countries without defaulting to legacy correspondent banking chains.”

Meanwhile, advances in treasury technology are helping businesses manage currency exposure more proactively, lowering the need for costly last-minute conversions.

“Perhaps most importantly, payment providers are rethinking how FX is integrated into the transaction flow,” PYMNTS wrote. “Instead of treating currency conversion as a separate, opaque step, it is increasingly embedded into the payment process itself, with real-time pricing and clear disclosures.”