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SWIFT gpi industry challenge fosters collaborative innovation between banks and FinTech companies from around the world and the region
Brussels, 28 June 2017 – SWIFT invites FinTech companies from around the world and the region to develop new overlay services that leverage its SWIFT global payments innovation (gpi) platform. SWIFT will provide funding of up to 200,000 EUR for the two winning FinTech finalists of an Industry Challenge. The FinTech winners will work with banks on collaborative innovation concepts that solve additional industry challenges in cross-border payments on top of SWIFT gpi.
SWIFT gpi has prompted the largest change in cross-border payments over the last 30 years. As an initiative, it engages the global banking industry and solves core problems related to speed, transparency and traceability of payments. Since its launch in January 2017, gpi has dramatically improved the cross-border payments experience for corporate treasurers in over 85 country corridors. Key features of the gpi service include enhanced business rules and a secure tracking database in the cloud accessible via APIs, resulting in faster “same day credits” to end beneficiaries, transparency of fees, and end-to-end tracking of payments in real-time. A strategic roadmap includes the ability to immediately stop a payment and convey rich payment data. SWIFT gpi also explores new technology, running a Proof of Concept using distributed ledger technology to reconcile banks’ nostro accounts in real-time.
To further enhance this experience, SWIFT is now launching the gpi Industry Challenge to encourage FinTech companies, including from the Middle East and North Africa, to build additional innovative overlay services leveraging the gpi platform, solving incremental challenges faced by corporate treasurers. These services can include, for example, enhanced invoice presentment and reconciliation to facilitate financial supply chains, exchange of supply chain documentation to improve global trade, exchange and interactive enquiry of account and processing conditions to improve end-to-end straight through processing, and providing additional party and transaction information to support compliance and sanctions screening of cross-border payments.
Wim Raymaekers, Head of Banking Market and SWIFT gpi Programme Manager at SWIFT says: “Rather than develop solutions in silo, companies – banks and SWIFT included, should open APIs to an ecosystem of partners. There are many companies out there with good ideas. SWIFT gpi is a great innovation in itself; with this industry challenge we want to foster additional collaborative innovation, drawing the best talents and thinking to our table.”
Five FinTech companies will be invited to a gpi Industry Challenge workshop in Singapore on 13-14 September 2017, where they will receive coaching from FinTech experts and be in direct contact with 30 gpi member banks. Two FinTech winners will be selected and receive up to 100,000 EUR each to further develop their concept over a three month period with banks and SWIFT, getting exposure to the financial industry, and be presented at Sibos in Toronto in October 2017.
Kevin Johnson, Head of SWIFT’s Innotribe Innovation Programmes adds: “SWIFT is about bringing added-value to its customers in response to a rapidly changing landscape. Collaboration across stakeholders is the key to success. This challenge draws on that unique focus and demonstrates that by leveraging the SWIFT gpi platform, we can meet the challenges of the financial community, together.”
For more information about the SWIFT gpi industry challenge or to apply to participate, please contact swiftforbank@swift.com or visit swift.com/gpi.
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About Industry Challenge
Formed in 2016, the Industry Challenge programme was developed by Innotribe to bring together SWIFT Member Institutions, FinTech companies and SWIFT internal teams to address the obstacles and opportunities facing the industry. The idea behind the programme is to identify and validate emerging, utility-based solutions to problems faced by SWIFT’s member organisations. The programme then brings together an integral mix of experts, stakeholders and innovators to explore new solutions and develop proof of concepts together. Innotribe’s objective is for this highly collaborative process to reveal solutions that are original, scalable and ready for immediate piloting.
About SWIFT
SWIFT is a global member owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and regulatory compliance.
Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. While SWIFT does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable our global community of users to communicate securely, exchanging standardised financial messages in a reliable way, thereby supporting global and local financial flows, as well as trade and commerce all around the world.
As their trusted provider, we relentlessly pursue operational excellence; we support our community in addressing cyber threats; and we continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Our products and services support our community’s access and integration, business intelligence, reference data and financial crime compliance needs. SWIFT also brings the financial community together – at global, regional and local levels – to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest or concern.
Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFT’s international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. SWIFT’s global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.
