Is payments giant SWIFT preparing for a blockchain-bound future?
Are TradFi and DeFi converging, moving toward a middle ground that includes tokenized assets, interoperability and regulation? SWIFT is a payments colossus. It operates across more than 200 countries, has 11,000-plus financial institution clients and transmits some 8.4 billion financial messages every year. It is the global leader in cross-border bank-to-bank payments and recently played a key role in the West’s economic sanctions on Russia. That doesn’t mean the Belgium-based cooperative is immune to disruption tremors, however. Critics have long maintained the interbank messaging system,....
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After months of testing, Swift, the interbank payments platform that connects 11,000 global banks, has formally launched the system it believes will be the future of its cross-border payments services. And notably absent was any integration with blockchain or distributed ledger technology. As part of the formal rollout, Swift (or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) revealed that 13 of the world's largest banks have been conducting real-time transactions via its Global Payments Innovation (GPI) project for some months. Although Swift plans to continue its....
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) announced that it is looking at the blockchain technology that powers Bitcoin as part of new global money transfer initiative. SWIFT provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment. The majority of international interbank messages use the SWIFT network, and SWIFT bank identification codes are routinely used by consumers to identify the recipient bank in wire transfers. According to the SWIFT....
Swift seemingly has an ace up their sleeve to one-up blockchain-based projects. Financial infrastructure is on the brink of being disrupted by new technologies. Mainly blockchain technology is one of the contenders to disrupt the financial sector as we know it. Swift, one of the world’s leading money transfer protocols, will make sure they are not replaced by distributed ledgers. A very bold statement that will require a lot more than just strong words. The vast majority of international interbank messages and transfers takes place on the Swift network. Even though the group operating this....
Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) has officially announced its intention to explore blockchain technology in a global payments innovation initiative meant to improve customer experience by increasing the speed and the reliability of cross-border payments. The initiative is expected to commence in early 2016, and will focus on a business-to-business payments service supported by participating banks. SWIFT provides its products and services to over 10,800 banking organizations, securities institutions and corporate clients. "This initiative is....
Can Swift stay relevant in a world of blockchain? Swift, founded in 1973 with the aim of standardizing how cross-border payments are sent, is the epitome of a middleman. It sits between many of the banks worldwide, making money off the fees it charges when its members sent transactions between one another. Since its founding, the number of Swift member banks has grown from 239 to more than 11,000. Last year, the "cooperative society" sent 6.1 billion financial messages on behalf of its members, earning €710m in operating revenue. Then came the blockchain, and in many ways, all....