Rapid leaps forward in cross-border payments have led to significant reductions in processing times. This is great for customers but also leaves windows of opportunity open for cybercriminals, such as money launderers and fraudsters. The responsibility to remain compliant with financial-crime regulations weighs heavily on banks as it becomes more complicated, but the SWIFT network is going all out to help in the effort to ensure swift but legal transactions.
2020 has proved to be an eventful year for ISO 20022, with SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and other major market infrastructures opting to postpone the implementation of the new standard. Any assumptions that these delays will provide participants with a respite are unfounded; testing times still lie ahead, and internal project work should reflect this.
The global payments system is undergoing a pivotal change as ISO 20022, the new ISO standard for electronic-data interchange, becomes a reality for financial institutions across the globe. The immediate challenges to carry it out are as great as the ultimate rewards, and some banks are better prepared than others. With deadlines drawing closer, what do financial firms need to consider and have in place in order to be ISO 20022 ready?
Despite being mooted more than a decade ago, widespread regulation mandating banks to adopt real-time cash-balance liquidity reporting has not materialised. With the exception of a handful of the world’s largest banks, few have taken it upon themselves to adopt these processes.
ISO 20022, the ISO standard for the interchange of electronic data between financial institutions, has arrived and is shaking up the payment sector worldwide. Migrating to the new system is voluntary, but the advantages of lower cost, greater fraud protection, increased customer satisfaction are quickly winning over banks and businesses alike, making its blanket adoption inevitable. What do bank managers need to do to prepare for this payment-processing overhaul?