Swift and Wise announce integration to enhance cross-border payment options for FIs
“We know that banks face a number of challenges when it comes to enhancing their international payments, including that this often requires them to embed technology which is incompatible with legacy infrastructure.”
Swift and Wise have joined forces in an innovative collaboration aimed at expanding cross-border payment options for financial institutions.
This partnership enables payments initiated securely via Swift to seamlessly complete their journey through the Wise platform, offering end-to-end transparency and efficiency.
Route Swift payment messages directly to the Wise Platform
Financial institutions looking to modernize their offerings can now route Swift payment messages directly to the Wise Platform, an infrastructure solution tailored for banks and major enterprises.
This integration, facilitated by Wise’s Correspondent Services solution, empowers customers of these institutions to enjoy the speed and convenience of Wise while benefiting from the extensive reach of Swift, all without necessitating significant changes to their existing systems.
Wise Platform will harness advanced Swift capabilities, including cloud and API connectivity and Payment Pre-validation, and will continue to offer banks the hallmark features of Swift GPI (Global Payments Innovation), which includes a payment status tracker. Wise Platform will regularly update this tracker to ensure end-to-end visibility across both networks.
Announced in Toronto at the annual Sibos conference, this collaboration represents just the beginning of a broader relationship. It comes at a time when innovation and fragmentation in the financial ecosystem are offering more avenues for money to move across borders, creating a growing demand for choice among consumers.
The collaboration is a testament to the significance of forging new partnerships to offer optionality while maintaining secure, reliable, and inclusive connectivity. Importantly, it aligns with both G20 and UN Sustainable Development goals concerning the speed, transparency, cost, and accessibility of cross-border transactions.
Leveraging existing payments architecture and optimising payouts
Steve Naudé, Managing Director of Wise Platform, said: “We know that banks face a number of challenges when it comes to enhancing their international payments, including that this often requires them to embed technology which is incompatible with legacy infrastructure. By simultaneously leveraging existing payments architecture and optimising payouts using Wise’s global network, we are empowering banks to innovate effortlessly. Our network, combined with Swift’s extensive reach and trackability, will make international payments more convenient, faster and lower cost for banks, without necessitating a major tech build.”
Thierry Chilosi, Chief Strategy Officer at Swift, said: “Swift has built an infrastructure that connects the world, that is trusted and relied upon every day. Our collaboration with Wise illustrates how Swift can be the bedrock from which the whole industry can innovate to improve cross-border payments and enhance the options available for customers across the globe. Cooperation such as this will be vital in our collective efforts to achieve the G20 targets for cross-border payments and enable the seamless, efficient and secure movement of value around a fragmented world.”
The collaboration between Swift and Wise signifies a leap forward in the world of cross-border payments. By combining Swift’s trusted infrastructure with Wise’s technological prowess, this partnership aims to redefine international payments, making them faster, more accessible, and cost-effective for financial institutions and their customers.
