Swift Supports Instant Round-The-Clock Cross-Border Payment Schemes
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Cross-border payments in Europe will support seamless connections to instant domestic payment systems. This system will offer full transparency and end-to-end tracking powered by the Swift system.
This offering is made possible by the One-Leg-Out Instant Credit Transfer scheme (OCT) Inst) launched by the European Payment Council this week. The offering supports cross-border payments across Europe every day of the week.
Swift Supports Cross-Border Payment Systems
The go-live comes from a successful proof of concept launched earlier this year. The pilot involved Iberpay and banks across Spain, Australia, Brazil, and the UK. The PoC saw several global payments entering Spanish accounts within seconds.
According to Swift, this offering interlinking market infrastructure will achieve the G20 goals of cross-border payments on speed, transparency, cost, and access. Earlier this year, Swift confirmed that 89% of payments on the network reached the end bank in just one hour.
Financial institutions view OCT Inst as a chance to leverage the objective of domestic instant payment systems globally. It will also facilitate outgoing flows using the existing frameworks.
The Chief Executive at Swift in Europe, Marianne Demarchi, noted that “Interoperability is at the heart of everything we are doing at Swift to achieve our strategy of instant and frictionless payments for all, and it will be key to achieving the G20’s goals for cross-border payments.”
Legal Framework on Facilitating Payments
Swift is working alongside interlinking programs to determine how they will leverage the solutions offered by Swift. The European legislation for instant payments mandates payment service providers to facilitate instant payments at a price similar to that of traditional payments.
The Swift Payment Pre-validation also supports the domestic Confirmation of Payee schemes with which institutions can comply with the legislation by monitoring the beneficiary details across the Eurozone without reinvesting in new products.
Leaders across the global payments community are advocating for this scheme, promoting it as “instrumental” in attaining the objectives of G20 countries. It will also foster interoperability between cross-border and domestic payments, enabling instant and frictionless payments.
The Director General of the European Payments Council, Giorgio Andreoli, noted that the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer scheme was the first non-SEPA scheme offered by the EPC while enabling global cross-border A2A transactions. The system also provides speed, lower costs, and traceability needed by the G20.
