Fiserv Expands Partnership With Swift to Enhance Cross-Border Payments

Fiserv has expanded its longstanding partnership with Swift to improve the speed and visibility of cross-border payments.

The global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions has joined the Swift Partner Programme as a Platform Partner, Fiserv said in a Wednesday (Oct. 4) press release.

This move will enable Fiserv to enhance support for Swift GPI (Global Payments Initiative) for its client financial institutions and provide seamless application programming interface (API) connectivity for cross-border payments, according to the release.

The integration of Swift APIs offers real-time connectivity, enables end-to-end transparency and facilitates full visibility on the status of payments for Fiserv client banks, the release said. This development presents an opportunity for financial institutions to readily access modern cross-border payment capabilities, combining the security and reach of Swift with Fiserv’s global technology footprint.

The Swift Partner Programme membership has already generated interest among Fiserv clients, with multiple financial institutions committed to leveraging the enhanced speed and transparency of cross-border payments that Swift API connectivity will provide, per the release.

Rossana Thomas, vice president and head of enterprise payments platform at Fiserv in EMEA, said in the release: “Our membership in the Swift Partner Program underscores our commitment to the strategic vision of leveraging APIs to facilitate access to Swift services. This is another way we can facilitate payment modernization on behalf of our clients and the wider Swift community in Europe and across the globe.”

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that with the increase in cross-border commerce, more financial institutions are offering solutions to reduce frictions for cross-border payments. Sixty-four percent of the organizations surveyed said they are “very” or “extremely” willing to bring in new tech to solve cross-border pain points, according to “Meeting the Challenge of Payments Modernization: Understanding Customer Needs,” a PYMNTS and FIS collaboration.

Cross-border transactions have traditionally had the highest frictions and costs of any form of payment. Solving for these historical bottlenecks has drawn the attention of non-bank platforms and firms offering alternative payment methods, as well as increasing interest from incumbent financial institutions.

Among those offering solutions is Swift, which reported Aug. 22 that 89% of the cross-border payments made via its service are being processed within an hour. The global messaging platform’s connectivity extends across more than 20 countries, spanning 11,500 financial institutions.