Swift and Wise announce cross border joint venture

Swift and cross-border payments specialist, Wise, have announced a partnership designed to improve payment options for financial institutions and their clients.

The announcement supports this year’s Sibos theme of “collaborative finance in a fragmented world” and reflects the importance of working together to respond to consumer demand.

The partnership will allow payments to be sent via Swift and seamlessly completed over Wise. Real-time tracking updates will be available across both networks.

Steve Naudé, managing director of the Wise Platform, said the integration will make international payments more convenient, faster, and more cost-efficient, without requiring a major tech re-build.

“By simultaneously leveraging existing payments architecture and optimising payouts using Wise's global network, we are empowering banks to innovate effortlessly,” said Naudé.

The new Correspondence Services Solution will combine Swift’s payment messaging system, cloud and API connectivity, and payment pre-validation with Wise Platform’s infrastructure solution for banks and major enterprises.

Thierry Chilosi, chief strategy officer at Swift, said: “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,” said Chilosi.

The announcement is the start of a wider collaboration between the two companies.

Sibos is one of the largest financial services conferences in the world and is being held in Toronto from 18 September to 21 September.