For too long, corporate payments have been plagued by competing standards and proprietary formats that have created a fragmented landscape. Multi-banked corporations face a disjointed array of banking providers offering varying features and services.
However, a solution is finally on the horizon. SWIFT has collaborated with leading cash management banks, including BNP Paribas, along with 20 top corporations to extend the benefits of the ISO 20022 standard to the corporate world. This move aims to overcome fragmentation, enhance speed, and provide much-needed transparency.
The introduction of ISO 20022 for payments presents financial institutions with an excellent opportunity. By reducing friction and improving reconciliation, banks can finally equip their corporate clients with the cash and treasury management capabilities they desperately need.
SWIFT plans to standardise the most complex segments of the payment chain - the initial and final corporate-to-bank transactions - by implementing ISO 20022 across the entire process. Banks will be able to offer ready-made, white-labelled payment tracking services via APIs or messaging channels.
This gives corporations complete visibility into a payment's status and confirmation of receipt, while standardising the tracking experience for those using multiple banks.
The end goal is for the ISO 20022 standard to replace cumbersome corporate-to-bank formats based on custom or proprietary systems. Standardisation facilitates automation, streamlines reconciliation, and drastically reduces integration costs.
Standardising Payment Tracking Data Elevates Customer Experience
Currently, multi-banked corporations must navigate a fragmented mess of service offerings from their banking partners due to localised investment demands.
However, SWIFT's new API and messaging channel empower financial institutions to deliver a consistent experience to all corporate customers. This unified approach provides corporations with a comprehensive view of their cross-border payments. It also grants managed access to essential SWIFT services like payment tracking and initiation with minimal integration hassles.
By finally establishing a universal standard, SWIFT and its partners are ushering in a new era of seamless corporate-to-bank interactions driven by clarity, automation and a renewed focus on exemplary customer experience.
Damien Godderis, Head of Payments Industry Engagement, said: “BNP Paribas are delighted to be working with Swift to offer a bank agnostic solution for payment initiation to maximise the benefits of ISO 20022, and to offer self-service payment tracking. We are excited to start testing along with our corporate clients.”
Financial institutions have until November 2025 to migrate to ISO 20022 for cross-border payments. Corporates are not mandated to make the change; however, adoption provides a unique opportunity to simplify and improve the end-to-end process.
Read more in the SWIFT press release.
