SWIFT’s Global Payments Initiative to improve member banks’ cross-border payment services was launched in January 2016 with a great fanfare as banks realised that they needed to improve their global cross-border payment services to match the new services from third parties. (Fintech companies have been providing such services since 2014 - see stories on: Align Commerce and Tipalti.)

New GPI members

Last month SWIFT announced that the first Indian banks - ICICI Bank and AXIS Bank  - have signed for its global payments innovation initiative. They will be joining forces with more than 70 other leading banks globally. 

In its first phase, the initiative will focus on business-to-business payments with the following key features:

• Same day use of funds
• Transparency and predictability of fees
• End-to-end payments tracking
• Transfer of rich payment information.

SWIFT say they are “working closely with the industry to transform correspondent banking and with the global payments innovation initiative, SWIFT is setting a new standard in cross-border payments.” They added, “Additional banks are welcome to join the initiative at any time.”

Learn more on GPI

SWIFT and the participating banks from the initiative will discuss GPI at Sibos 2016 with specific sessions focused on payments innovation. And/or follow the debate at swift.com/gpii or join SWIFT at Sibos in Geneva 26-29 September 2016.

---

CTMfile take: SWIFT and their member banks need everyone to join and adopt the new process standards for GPI for the initiative to have real impact. This is why they wrote in their Press Release, “Additional banks are welcome to join the initiative at any time.”