SWIFT today announces the results of a global trial to integrate SWIFT gpi Instant, the co-operative’s cross-border instant payments service, into Singapore’s domestic instant payment service, Fast And Secure Transfers (FAST).
The successful trial which involved 17 banks across seven countries – Australia, China, Canada, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Singapore and Thailand – saw cross-border payments between these continents settle within 25 seconds; with the fastest from Australia to Singapore in just 13 seconds.
This major advance extends the speed and transparency of SWIFT gpi deeper into domestic markets, reaching a wider set of ultimate beneficiary accounts around the world.
The final leg of cross-border payments often introduces delays due to domestic clearance and settlement. However, gpi Instant capitalises on the 24×7 availability of instant payment systems such as FAST, to enable payment settlement in the destination market, even outside normal business hours.
The trial further demonstrates the global scalability of gpi to integrate with multiple domestic instant payment systems. Results show that:
- The fastest payment in the trial, from Australia into Singapore and processed onward via FAST, took only 13 seconds
- The fastest payment from Asia into Singapore and processed onward took 14 seconds; 15 seconds from Europe and 20 seconds from North America
- All payments were processed end-to-end within 25 seconds
- Eleven banks initiated cross-border payments into Singapore, and six banks in Singapore processed the payments domestically via the FAST system
- Six country corridors into Singapore were involved in the trial, with a maximum time difference of 12 hours on the Canada-Singapore corridor
The successful global trial comes on the back of a 2018 test with a group of banks and Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) in which payments from China to Australia took just 18 seconds, and ahead of an upcoming test with banks and the TARGET Instant Payments Settlement (TIPS) in Europe. Together, the TIPS, FAST and NPP instant payment systems are the first of many domestic real-time infrastructures, connected via the banks and using gpi that will enable a globally-scalable instant cross-border payments service. Additional tests are planned in other markets with instant payment systems, ahead of the planned global launch of gpi Instant later this year.
Eddie Haddad, Managing Director of SWIFT, Asia Pacific, said:
“We are systematically linking domestic instant payment systems on the gpi platform through our existing rails, and Singapore’s track record for payments innovation makes it a fitting launch pad for gpi Instant. The successful testing of the Thailand-Singapore corridor also confirms the scalability of gpi Instant towards a pan-ASEAN cross-border instant payments service essential for integration across the region. The trial is a nod to SWIFT’s vision of ensuring that cross-border payments become as seamless and convenient as domestic ones, and speaks to the global scalability of gpi for ubiquitous cross-border instant payments.”
Atul Bhuchar, Group Payments Head, Global Transaction Services, DBS, said:
“The dynamic pace of global commerce is defined by the speed and efficiency of cross-border payments. Singapore has sought to be at the forefront of digital and payments innovation. As the lead-bank for the Standards Workgroup, one of the key drivers for this initiative, DBS is working closely with the industry to define the roadmap to this next frontier in payments.”
SWIFT gpi Instant reuses existing cross-border and domestic payments infrastructure, minimises implementation costs for users and allows them to avoid the complexities of adopting new cross-border infrastructure.
Featured image credit: SWIFT
