In an exclusive International Banker interview, Vitus Rotzer, Chief Product Officer for Financial Messaging at Bottomline, shared insights into the company’s strategies for navigating the rapidly transforming business-payment ecosystem. Rotzer’s objective and drive to exceed client expectations were pivotal in Bottomline winning the Best Cross-Border Payments Provider in North America at the 2025 International Banker Awards.
Leading Bottomline’s global-expansion strategy, Rotzer has prioritised integrating front-office digital-banking solutions with back-office financial-messaging connectivity. This approach ensures that both major and regional banks in North America can provide enhanced services to their corporate clients. Rotzer stated, “Our holistic strategy positions us to better support cash management for corporates while also leveraging Swift capabilities to elevate corporate banking experiences.”
Since his appointment nearly a year ago, Rotzer has been particularly focused on developing the Universal Aggregator, a unified API (application programming interface)-enabled SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform. This initiative equips banks with the advanced compliance tools necessary for navigating the shifting regulatory landscape, especially in light of the complexities associated with the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Instant) and ISO 20022. He noted that Bottomline’s significant market share in managing cross-border traffic makes it uniquely qualified to address the compliance and connectivity needs of banks and financial institutions worldwide.
Mr. Vitus Rotzer, Chief Product Officer for Financial Messaging, Bottomline
Bottomline’s roadmap includes the continued integration of a variety of domestic and cross-border payment networks. Its partnerships with stakeholders such as Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and Visa are pivotal, especially for addressing unique challenges in regions such as APAC (Asia–Pacific), where liquidity management is crucial. “Our goal is to enhance flexibility and ensure compliance by aligning with the G20’s cross-border payment objectives,” stated Rotzer.
Reflecting on Switzerland’s advancements with SIC Instant Payments (SIC IP), Rotzer noted that the introduction of real-time payments marks a significant shift in the country’s banking landscape. “Our earlier adoption of ISO 20022 and our robust infrastructure positioned us as a leader, enabling over 60 banks to go live with instant payments from day one,” he shared. “The focus is not only on technology but also on collaboration within the payment ecosystem for robust liquidity management.”
In supporting the transition from euroSIC to SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area), Rotzer emphasised Bottomline’s established capabilities. “We already support SEPA and Target 2, making us ideally placed to facilitate this transition in collaboration with the Swiss Euro Clearing Bank and SIX.”
Looking ahead, Rotzer identified trends such as AI (artificial intelligence), embedded finance and alternative payment methods, including stablecoins and CBDCs (central bank digital currencies), as critical to reshaping the payment landscape. However, Bottomline’s strategy incorporates these innovations into a single API-enabled platform that will adapt steadily to emerging technologies. He explained, “Our experience in integrating new rails means we’re ready to evolve our offerings in response to market demands.”
He also clarified that Bottomline plans to leverage AI as part of its comprehensive fraud-management suite, which includes its best-in-class sanctions-screening solution. Additionally, the team plans to incorporate AI into its data-analytics portfolio, including its data-management and storage solution, Message Vault, which facilitates reporting and data analysis.
Set against this backdrop, Rotzer highlighted Bottomline’s immediate goal: to assist clients in becoming ISO 20022 compliant. With November 2025 marking the beginning of the full ISO 20022-integration journey, Bottomline aims to provide its clients with the necessary tools and support to maximise operational efficiencies and create new revenue streams.
Rotzer underscored the importance of problem validation and cross-functional alignment when launching new products. “We iterate quickly, testing prototypes and integrating go-to-market plans early with marketing and sales teams,” he stated. Following launch, Bottomline prioritises continuous improvement based on user feedback, analytics and regular roadmap reviews to stay competitive in the evolving market. Client feedback is central to Bottomline’s product-development process. “We deeply analyse user needs and preferences, testing prototypes to ensure new offerings align with expectations,” said Rotzer, reaffirming the company’s commitment to delivering value-driven solutions.
Data also plays a pivotal role in Bottomline’s processes, guiding development and measuring product success. “Our analytics framework helps us adapt our products in real-time based on user behaviours and market trends.”
Rotzer also mentioned that one of Bottomline’s most exciting offerings, launched in mid-2024, is a scalable instant-payment solution integrated within its Universal Aggregator SaaS platform. Designed for real-time processing, it positions clients at the forefront of compliance with instant-payment regulations while supporting future adaptations to various payment systems globally.
As Bottomline continues to expand its services and leverage advanced technologies, it is clear that Vitus Rotzer’s leadership has been transformational in navigating the complexities of the modern payment landscape. His stewardship has positioned Bottomline as a business-payment provider prepared to meet future challenges and opportunities head-on, always with its clients at the forefront. International Banker was pleased to discuss Bottomline’s recent initiatives with him.
Mr. Rotzer in conversation, sharing insights on Bottomline’s strategy for navigating the evolving business-payment landscape
Mr. Rotzer, it’s a privilege to speak with you today….
I understand you are leading the global-expansion strategy for the Bottomline suite of financial solutions and spearheading outreach for a front-end digital-banking and financial-messaging cross-sell proposition. Can you tell us more about this initiative and what some of your key priorities are within your go-to-market strategy?
Bottomline is composed of multiple product lines that, in combination, provide 360-degree coverage of the business-payment ecosystem. A case in point is how we can combine our front-office digital-banking solutions with our back-office financial-messaging connectivity solutions. In North America, our digital-banking solution already serves major and regional banks, and we are extending the proposition with financial-messaging connectivity to allow these banks to better serve their corporate clients. This also enables corporates to better manage their cash, as well as seize the huge potential for these banks to leverage the Swift capabilities to better serve their own corporate customers. This is how we are expanding and positioning ourselves in North America—and globally.
It’s been almost a year since you took on the role of Chief Product Officer for Financial Messaging at Bottomline. During this time, which area of the company, such as a particular product line or function, has demanded your most immediate attention, and why? And in your view, what is Bottomline’s greatest strength when it comes to financial messaging?
It’s been about developing our API-enabled single SaaS platform—Universal Aggregator—and adhering to compelling regulatory and mandated events in the market, such as SEPA Inst, SIC Instant Payments, ISO 20022 and payment verification (VoP [Verification of Payee] and CoP [Confirmation of Payee]). Additionally, the proposition has broadened to include digital banking and front-office functionality. Over the past year, our main focus has been on positioning Bottomline’s financial-messaging payment connectivity capabilities within our overall scope. This enables Bottomline to have lots of conversations with our clients and the industry as a whole on how we can better combine our proposition with the rest of the global Bottomline solutions in the B2B (business-to-business) space. For instance, how can we better serve our corporate clients via Swift, and how can we better integrate our fraud-management capabilities as well?
For corporate clients, the proposition is payment connectivity that integrates with our global payment hub and cash-management solutions, enabling corporates to have a completely new set of solutions that will address the specificity of this corporate market. So, this is my number-one priority: to have clear positioning for Bottomline’s payment connectivity, which is linked to everything we do. If you think about “pay and get paid”, we cover all parts of the payment-transaction chain.
I am also focused on ISO 20022 and the global migration to this messaging standard. ISO 20022 is the springboard for payment modernisation because of the huge potential that the rich, structured, enhanced and standardised data offers for fraud prevention, payment visibility, liquidity management and the rails for real-time payment schemes globally. As one of the top Swift bureaus in the world, we have over 400 customers using us for their CBPR+ (Cross-Border Payments and Reporting Plus) migration, as well as supporting domestic mandates globally. We have a great deal of experience with ISO 20022, having managed the migration in Switzerland in 2016. We also offer our own Transformation and Enrichment service to translate MT (message type) and MX messages into ISO 20022, supporting customers yet to become ISO native.
I think the key point is that Bottomline’s financial-messaging solutions are truly global. Our core connectivity functionality underpins all the various product and solution sets across Bottomline and the business-payment ecosystem as a whole. Add to that our heritage of 35 years in the market and our strong market share, managing 15 percent of all Swift cross-border traffic and over 40 percent of the UK and Swiss market share.
Finally, our biggest strength is our single multilateral platform, which combines domestic and cross-border rails into one intelligent payment rail. This is convenient, flexible and allows better access. This one-stop-shop integration allows for speed to market, guaranteed compliance, scalability and overall operational efficiency. Product roadmaps for banks and financial institutions have never been so busy, and so there is more of a need for financial institutions to work with trusted partners, like Bottomline, to support them in their payment-modernisation journeys.
Bottomline’s connectivity solutions integrate with a wide range of domestic and cross-border payment networks, including Swift, the United Kingdom’s Faster Payment System (FPS), SEPA, SIC, Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs), Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard (EBICS), Visa and others to help clients deliver greater value to their customers. Are you satisfied with the range of payment networks you currently support, and is there potential to broaden this in the future?
We have a strong partnership with Swift in the cross-border world. Additionally, we collaborate with other industry partners, such as Visa, to leverage their multilateral cross-border platforms. This is particularly important in areas like APAC, which has exotic currencies and needs to avoid trapped liquidity via Vostro/Nostro accounts. Cross-border payments are about flexibility and intelligent routing, and we want to support our customers with the key pillars of the G20’s cross-border payment initiative for 2027: Speed and Access (2027) and Cost and Transparency (2030).
Finally, we actively promote Swift in the United States, as we see this as a great way for US banks to improve their payment connectivity.
You have previously spoken about leveraging ISO 20022 structured data for operational efficiency. What is the significance of this standard, especially with respect to cross-border payments? And does this standard have any special implications for Bottomline’s operations and product-line strategy?
Clearly, yes, it has wide-ranging implications and is the key to everything we do. It is a fundamental underlying change for all markets. Without rich, standardised and structured data, we will not achieve the targets that the G20 has defined: Speed and Access (2027) and Cost and Transparency (2030).
Poll statistics from our May 2025 ISO (International Organization for Standardization) webinar indicated:
- Top perceived benefit: 25 percent cited the ability to leverage structured data;
- Other leading benefits: Improved transparency (21 percent), fraud monitoring (18 percent) and reduced friction (16 percent);
- Cost reduction, while acknowledged as a future benefit, remains minimal today (1.5 percent) due to ongoing implementation expenses.
Further polling showed that only 19 percent of participants already leverage ISO 20022 benefits, while 22 percent are still awaiting the end of the coexistence period before acting.
Bottomline is fully native ISO 20022, and we are helping our customers to become compliant. If they need a transformation, that’s exactly what we support, not only for Swift but also FedNow in the US, Lynx in Canada, CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) in the UK, SIC in Switzerland and other countries that we serve globally, such as PhilPaSS (Philippine Payment and Settlement System) in the Philippines. Not only do you need to adapt your payment connectivity, but you also need to adapt all your subsystems. Therefore, sanctions screening, fraud management, etc., need to be addressed as well.
The welcome area at Bottomline’s headquarters, reflecting the company’s modern and client-focused environment.
What significance does SaaS technology hold for Bottomline, especially in terms of helping your customers and partners streamline their financial processes and enhance their operational efficiency? And can you tell us more about the software behind your SaaS platforms, especially why it’s so highly regarded throughout the industry and the importance of it being bank-agnostic?
Bottomline leverages our customer feedback, payment expertise and all the various compliance and regulatory mandates in the market to drive our SaaS strategy. SaaS is not only a technology but also a way of delivering services. Therefore, SaaS has always been important to us. It also helps us to facilitate meeting the new requirements of the API-driven world of open banking, where you want to consume different types of business services. So, having this capability of managing a process and a workflow for different business banking services is at the core of our product offering.
Using APIs allows us to speed to market for integration, provide new functionality and keep up with innovation versus using legacy solutions. In addition to that, you bring high availability and resiliency. All these elements are key in the payment world and are critical to our clients. We recognise the importance of our clients and the services we offer to the market, positioning ourselves as a truly vital and systemic partner.
I also want to clarify that our solutions are agnostic. This means they can be offered as a wrap-around solution for a customer’s in-house-built solutions, competitors’ solutions and our own.
Again, it is important to reference APIs. Having standardised APIs makes development and integration so much easier. Bottomline’s APIs mean that we can integrate with any back office, and if any transformation conversion is required, we have the capability to do so. So, yes, the platform is completely agnostic from any third-party solution or bank solution, be it for payment or any core banking requirement. In effect, it allows us to connect to any network through the various different gateways that we need to support.
Can you tell us more about how organisations within the financial ecosystem can partner with Bottomline? What types of partnership opportunities do you currently offer?
We have different types of partnerships, be it a simple commercial referral relationship or one whereby we completely integrate our proposition. In essence, our payment connectivity and compliance solutions are pre-integrated into our core partner-integration offering.
Essentially, we offer added-value wrap-around services to the banks and wider market through our SaaS technology, as it’s much easier to integrate fast API-driven technology. Our partners can consume our service, integrate it into their own services and then sell it to the market. This is the type of partnership that we are actively pursuing and agreeing to daily.
Switzerland has made significant progress in advancing its digital-payment landscape by successfully launching the first phase of SIC Instant Payments (SIC IP) on August 20, 2024. What are some of the key requirements of this phase, particularly those with the greatest impact on Bottomline? How did Bottomline enable 60-plus banks to go live with SIC IP as part of Phase 1?
Bottomline has roughly half of the market share in Switzerland and a strong heritage of supporting customers with ISO 20022 (back to 2016), SIC IP and other key initiatives such as euroSIC. However, I think the introduction of instant payments in Switzerland has been a big change and a big move for many banks. Banks and financial institutions in Switzerland realise that it’s not only about technology and connectivity but also collaboration as a payment ecosystem. As a result, our clients have relied on us because we have been quick to market. In fact, the first instant-payment transaction was processed on Bottomline rails. This is a strong example of how we support clients from the ground up, or as we like to say, “From top to Bottomline”. This includes offering the system in a highly available context, which was required for SIC. Now, the challenge for banks is about bridging the gap with their core banking to ensure it is 24/7 and can maintain the necessary liquidity and real-time balance positioning. We also have multiple partners in Switzerland that offer a variety of solutions via different integration models. This allows us to offer our customers a true end-to-end solution in a timely manner, ensuring their compliance with regulatory requirements and disaster-recovery best practices.
Phase 2 of SIC IP is just another cohort of roughly 260 banks that are now mandated, so they expanded it from the top 20 percent of banks in Switzerland in Phase 1 to all banks doing SIC processing, as SIC payments need to be available via SIC Instant Payments. Therefore, we will continue to serve the market, continue our partnerships and support even more Swiss clients in achieving their goals by the 2026 deadline.
For Phase 2, we will definitely bring the knowledge and experience we gained in Phase 1. Being one of the main partners for all of these banks in the first phase positions us very well for the next phase. We have a proven record of successful projects that we can leverage, and this extends to working with banks that have a lower volume and value of payments, which see SIC as a compliance requirement more than a strategic business case. Everyone needs to comply, but a one-size-fits-all solution is not the right approach. Rather, we offer tailored and scalable solutions. Time to market is going to be critical for all banks, and the Bottomline solution is ready, live and proven.
How is Bottomline supporting the transition from euroSIC to SEPA?
It’s something we fully support. We are in contact with the Swiss Euro Clearing Bank (SECB) and SIX (Swiss Infrastructure and Exchange), and we are well positioned since we already support SEPA and Target 2. Therefore, we can meet all the requirements and are working closely with SIX, SECB and our clients to support the most efficient transition.
What do you see as being the most significant trend to impact the business-payment landscape over the next few years (e.g., AI, embedded finance)? How do you expect these trends to affect both the types of solutions that Bottomline offers in the future and your role as Chief Product Officer for Financial Messaging?
We’re seeing different priorities and plans across the global payment market. There is certainly an interest in providing more alternative payment types, whether that be stablecoins, blockchain or CBDCs.
Bottomline has over 35 years of experience in connecting and integrating new rails as a leading connectivity provider globally. We have built our product strategy around catering to new formats, new types of connectivity and leveraging new technology. In fact, our overarching strategy is to combine this into a single API-enabled multi-lateral platform that leverages a single rail for all types of domestic and cross-border payments. It is why we have invested in building our SaaS platform that is integrated with open finance via APIs. This platform and our roadmap evolve daily as we keep pace and aim to exceed market and client expectations.
We plan to leverage AI, but more as part of our comprehensive fraud-management suite, which includes our best-in-class sanctions-screening solution. We also plan to use it as part of our data-analytics portfolio, such as our data-management and storage solution, Message Vault, whereby we can use it to support reporting and data analysis.
What would you say is your single biggest objective over the next 12 to 18 months? And how do you intend to achieve it?
Bottomline’s biggest objective right now is to support our customers with ISO 20022. November 2025 is only the start of the journey, and the full potential of ISO 20022 has yet to be leveraged and explored.
We have been helping our Swiss clients become ISO native since 2016, and we’re now leveraging that experience and our one-stop-shop API-enabled SaaS platform to ensure that our clients are not only compliant but also fully maximise the vast number of opportunities for operational efficiency that ISO 20022 provides.
Our key objective is to ensure that we support our clients by enabling them to exceed their end-customer expectations, develop new revenue streams, improve operational efficiency and succeed in their digital-payment modernisation strategies.
What are the core strategies you employ to ensure new Bottomline products are successfully introduced to the market? And once products are launched, what ongoing processes or frameworks are in place to ensure they are continually enhanced and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market?
Successful product launches start with clear problem validation, tight alignment across teams and rapid iteration. We ensure we deeply understand user needs and/or new market or regulatory requirements, build lean prototypes and refine through early testing. Go-to-market plans are integrated early with marketing, sales and support to drive adoption from Day One.
Post-launch, we prioritise continuous improvement through user feedback loops, analytics and market monitoring to guide continuous improvement. Regular roadmap reviews and agile prioritisation help us adapt quickly, ensuring the product evolves with user expectations and maintains a competitive edge.
How significant is customer feedback in the development of new products? And how do you ensure that these products effectively address customer needs and preferences upon introduction?
Customer feedback is central to our product development. We use it to validate needs early, shape solutions and prioritise features. By testing prototypes with real users and analysing behaviour post-launch, we ensure new products evolve with customer expectations and are continuously optimised for value.
How significant a role does data play in both the development of new products and the measurement of the success of those already launched? And what are your primary methods to leverage and integrate data to continually enhance product quality?
Data is essential for both building and refining products. Bottomline uses data to validate user needs, guide development and measure success post-launch. Through analytics, feedback and testing, we continuously improve product quality and ensure alignment with user behaviours and expectations.
What would you say is the single most exciting product you have launched in 2025? And what makes this product particularly impressive in terms of its innovation and impact?
We launched one of our most exciting products in mid-2024—a fully scalable, highly available instant-payment solution integrated into our new Universal Aggregator SaaS platform. Designed for 24/7 real-time processing, it has enabled clients to comply with instant-payment regulations in Switzerland while delivering near-zero latency performance. Its extensible architecture now supports SEPA Instant Credit Transfer in Europe and is future-ready for other instant-payment schemes around the world—for example, FedNow in the United States or Faster Payments Service in the United Kingdom—as these schemes move to ISO 20022. This product is a strategic enabler for our clients’ real-time payment ambitions.
Mr. Rotzer, thank you for filling us in on Bottomline’s advances in transforming the rapidly changing cross-border business-payment space.