At Swift, our priority is to make cross-border payments as fast and seamless as domestic ones. With our latest major initiative, we’re taking another bold step toward that goal – launching a new scheme to guarantee a consistently fast, predictable and transparent experience for retail customers worldwide.
A new standard for cross-border retail payments
Together with a coalition of over 30 early-adopter banks, we’re developing rules that will set a new standard for consumers and small businesses sending money internationally. Under the scheme, participating institutions will commit to:
- Upfront transparency on payment and FX fees
- Guaranteed full-value delivery
- End-to-end visibility of transactions
- Commitment to instant settlement where available
These rules are designed to give retail customers the confidence and peace of mind they expect when sending money abroad, delivering a best-in-class user experience.
Leveraging the power of the Swift platform
While our platform is most often associated with wholesale payments, recent upgrades have elevated the retail experience too. Today, banks using Swift can already deliver payments that exceed G20 targets for speed, with 75% of Swift payments reaching destination banks within 10 minutes.
Recent initiatives such as Swift Go have already demonstrated what’s possible on retail channels. The new scheme will accelerate these benefits across more than 4 billion accounts in over 220+ countries and territories – bringing global scale and consistency to cross-border retail payments.
Advancing the G20 roadmap
This initiative is closely aligned with the 2027 G20 Roadmap for cross-border payments, a strategic priority for Swift, which calls for faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more inclusive payment services worldwide.
Our focus has centered on two key areas:
- Optimising the cross-border leg of a payment, where significant progress has already been achieved.
- Addressing the ‘last mile’—the domestic leg of a transaction, which accounts for 80% of the total time taken due to local regulations, market infrastructures, and practices.
By introducing clear rules for retail payments, we’re not only improving the in-flight experience but also helping banks and policymakers identify and address domestic frictions.
Working together with the industry
The scheme will be developed in stages with over 30 early-adopter banks from 17 countries. Together, we’ll define the rules and mechanisms required to increase speed and predictability across the ecosystem for consumers and SMEs.
“Swift has worked with its community over the past few years to significantly raise the bar on the cross-border payments experience. And now, together with the industry, we are bringing those same benefits to retail customers around the world.” — Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer, Swift
Looking ahead
At Swift, we’re committed to supporting the industry as it evolves. This means continuing to raise standards across our own network, while also working with regulators, infrastructures, and market participants to reduce friction wherever it arises.
Through this new scheme, financial institutions will ensure their customers enjoy the same speed and predictability in cross-border payments that they experience domestically – helping to unlock new opportunities for global commerce and inclusion.
Read our latest paper on cross-border payments and the ‘last mile’ challenge
What the participants are saying:
FAQs
What will the future scheme do?
The scheme will define clear rules for retail payments over Swift to ensure upfront transparency on cost, full value delivery, end-to-end visibility and instant settlement where available. Swift is working with a voluntary coalition of banks to design the framework.
What benefits will it deliver to my customers?
The ambition is to make international payments sent by consumers and small businesses as fast and seamless as domestic ones.
What is the timeline?
We’re just starting development of the framework with the early adopter banks and expect this work to unfold in several phases. We will keep the community informed as it develops.
How can my bank get involved?
Please contact your Swift Account Manager to explore this further.
Participating banks
Banks from 17 countries will work with Swift to set the retail rules in stages, including defining mechanisms to ensure adherence. The banks include:
| Absa ANZ Axis Bank Banco Bradesco Banco Santander Bank of America Banorte BBVA BNP Paribas BNY Citi |
Commerzbank Commonwealth Bank of Australia Crédit Agricole Deutsche Bank Ecobank Emirates NBD FirstRand Bank ICICI Bank Itaú Unibanco JP Morgan Chase Lloyds Bank |
Mizuho NatWest OCBC Bank Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB) Societe Generale TD Bank Group UOB Wells Fargo Westpac |
