Swift launches GPI payments service for corporations

Swift is building out its Global Payments Innovation (GPI) service to allow corporations to initiate and track payments across all of their banking partners from a single source.

The new service by Swift marks the end of the pilot phase and the beginning of the full scale launch. The successful pilot involved 22 companies and banks including Airbus, Booking.com, GE, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, J.P Morgan, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered.

Swift reports it has already achieved rapid initial adoption success of the GPI for corporates program.

“Over 50 corporates and banks, including nine of the ten top cash management banks, have already signed up, and we expect this number to grow significantly in the coming months,” stated Marcus Delbaere, head of corporates and trade at Swift in the press release.

Swift created the GPI program in 2016 when it formalized the framework for common messaging, standards and business policies that would enable seamless cross-border payments. By the end of 2018, Swift's GPI service was moving 55% of its cross-border payments. According to Swift, about 50% of GPI payments are credited within 30 minutes and almost all are done within 24 hours.

Swift has a goal of universal GPI adoption among the 10,000 banks in its network by the end of 2020.