A group of multinational corporates has published an open letter urging more banks to sign up to SWIFT’s global payments innovation (gpi) project.
SWIFT’s drive to boost speed and transparency within cross-border payments – with the added benefit of end-to-end tracking – has so far garnered the support of more than 110 banks.
However, with many institutions yet to join, the six multinationals – ASEA Brown Boveri, Nestle, Wurth, SBB, Swiss Re and Roche – argue that services for treasurers would dramatically improve if the numbers rose.
In their open letter, the companies point out: “If corporate treasurers send to their bank a request for a cross-border transaction, there is today no or little sight on what actually happens with that instruction.
“Treasurers tend to compare this to a ‘black box’ – not knowing exactly when payments are credited, or what fees are deducted. In addition, treasurers and finance managers have little visibility of when and why a payment has been rejected, and the investigation process can be time-consuming and costly.
“It is not always clear which party should initiate an investigation. This can cause problems with suppliers or end customers, not to mention increasing financial risks resulting from payment delays – or even fraudulent actions.”
The letter stresses: “Corporates would like to have better predictability of the payment reaching the beneficiary account – hence the ability to track the payment’s progress and status is a critical business requirement.
“Corporates want to know if, and at what point in time, the bank has released the payment after sanction screening and internal approval process[es]. Additionally, there is continuously increasing pressure from their end customers, expecting new and better services from their bank.”
It adds: “With considerable industry support across the globe, and an increasing number of leading transaction banks committed to the service, we are convinced that SWIFT gpi represents a major improvement in cross-border payments.
“The increasing number of banks going live on this service addresses the demands of corporate treasurers. Hence, banks cannot afford to not join the initiative and go live as soon as possible. Our expectation is that all of our cross-border payments will be end-to-end SWIFT gpi payments in the future.”
Following the six companies’ weighty endorsement of the gpi, SWIFT head of corporates and supply chain Marc Delbaere said: “We hear the same ‘call for action’ from corporates around the world. They want to know as fast as possible when a payment has been delivered to the end beneficiary.
“If there is an issue along the way, they would like to have more efficient ways of investigating exceptions. And, of course, large multi-banked corporates used to multi-banking approaches on SWIFT want a common experience across banks.”
He added: “We are now working very closely with the banks to bring these capabilities to market for the benefit of the corporates community.”
SWIFT’s gpi chief and head of banking Wim Raymaekers said: “Already today, with so many banks supporting SWIFT gpi, corporates are getting an enhanced experience directly from their banks, in more than 85 country corridors.
“With its open membership model, we welcome more banks to join SWIFT gpi and respond to the needs of their clients – as expressed by corporates around the world.”