SWIFT

A dozen global transaction banks are now using the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication's new global payments initiative service to improve cross-border payment delivery.

The initiative pushes open and collaborative development of uses cases for the distributed ledger technology in financial services and payments.

The Society for Worldwide Financial Telecommunication is exploring the potential of distributed ledger technology for banks to provide real-time reconciliation of their databases for accounts they hold in other banks in a foreign currency.

Facing security challenges at its member banks and competition from other tech providers, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication [Swift] plans to put its best foot forward in 2017.

In response to a series of cyber bank thefts, Swift has developed new guidance. It's a necessary first step, though banks for now are still left to fend for themselves.

The payments messaging network Swift has told its client banks that the threat of cyberattacks "is very persistent, adaptive and sophisticated — and it is here to stay."

A group of banks is turning to Swift's anti money laundering tools, with a particular eye on "de-risking."