Responsible innovation and collaboration top Swift’s agenda for Sibos 2018

While October may be a long way off for most, for Swift, and the other 160 plus exhibitors expected at Sibos in Sydney, it’s really right around the corner. With its dual role of organising Sibos, Swift is also a top exhibitor at the financial industry’s event of the year.  Swift@Sibos sat down with Paul Taylor, Head of Communications at Swift and the executive responsible for delivering Swift’s presence at the event, to get a sneak peek into the co-operative’s plans.

What is the focus for Swift at this year’s Sibos?

In Sydney, delegates can expect a strong focus from Swift in the areas of payments, compliance and security, underpinned with discussions, debates and demos around new technologies and standards. 

Swift GPI will be prominently featured along with real-time and instant payments solutions.  As payments keep moving faster, so does financial crime and security threats, creating the opportunity to debate both the problem and collective solutions to these challenges will be a key priority.

Why focus on these particular topics?

Payments, compliance and security are major tenants of today’s financial services landscape and are key priority areas for Swift. The payments industry is evolving at a rapid pace. Increased customer expectations around speed and transparency are fuelling the drive for new technologies and new ways to move money, inciting more competition from new entrants. This new paradigm has prompted change to the traditional banking model, which requires careful, responsible innovation and flexibility, whilst expanding services to accommodate new requirements. With the excitement of new technology to support payments also comes the balance of keeping compliance and security initiatives in check. This is a recurring theme across our customer base and major challenges we need to address as a community.

What’s new for 2018?

For the first time we are bringing many of the Swift session elements into one vibrant space called the Swift Hub.  In this area delegates will hear from Swift and other leading industry and academic experts, followed by use-cases and demos. The Swift Lab will be on display to learn about new projects and technologies we are exploring in the sand box. The Swift Institute will have a series of leading academics on stage, sharing their views on today’s challenges. The Standards Forum stand and sessions will also be stationed in this area. We are very excited about this move for 2018 as we expect the Standards Forum to be a great anchor for the new Swift Hub at Sibos.

Will Swift have a big presence in the exhibition hall?

Yes, absolutely. In addition to the Swift Hub area, Swift’s exhibition presence at Sibos will be significant, as in previous years. Similar to other exhibitors, the Swift stand remains a place for networking with Swift to discuss the key priorities and put additional hands on our technology. CSR remains an important focus for Swift at Sibos. For 2018, delegates can visit the Swift stand for an experiential photo opportunity with a Sydney-themed backdrop. For each visitor that takes part in the experience on the stand, Swift will make a donation to The Girls & Boys Brigade, a local charity based in Sydney.

What is happening with Innotribe at Sibos?  Will they be featured in the Swift Hub too?

This year Innotribe can be found at the heart of the newly launched Discover Zone, which brings together bank innovation labs, university labs and FinTech companies, to showcase their innovative solutions for the industry. For Innotribe, delegates can expect sessions to look at the capabilities today’s nascent technology will enable by the year 2030, and the potential impact and opportunities to our community. We are very excited for this year’s Innotribe programme and expect more great content from the team to help Sibos delegates on their own transformational journeys. 

With your exhibitor hat on, what advice can you give first time exhibitors and delegates at Sibos?

Anyone new to Sibos should use the event as it has been designed – for peerless networking opportunities and to contribute to inspiring content. Sibos is a vibrant networking opportunity where leading industry minds come together, discuss and debate key challenges, agree a way forward and deploy solutions. Use the week at Sibos to network with peers and clients from all over the world and with contacts you might not get to see in person due to geography. On the content side, there is no other industry event that covers the breadth and depth to today’s industry challenges spanning payments, securities, compliance and security. Be at the ready to engage and contribute to the conversations.