Taking Connectivity to the Next Level

by Tom Durkin, Global Head of Integrated Channel Solutions, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Corporations connecting to SWIFT are now outnumbering those adopting legacy host-to-host connections by two to one. As such, SWIFT for Corporates is no longer a niche solution, but is becoming increasingly viewed as a mainstream offering – prompting companies to take a more sophisticated approach when deciding whether and how they should connect to SWIFT. Companies which have already invested in SWIFT connectivity are also beginning to look beyond the basic offering and ask what more they can do to benefit from their investment in SWIFT.

Making connections

The connectivity landscape continues to evolve. Vendor consolidation is becoming more common among service providers as regulatory changes and the cost of investing in up-to-date security measures take their toll on smaller players. Meanwhile, ERP provider SAP has recently entered the market with last year’s launch of its Financial Services Network (FSN). While it is early days, banks are looking to support this initiative, which aims to provide another avenue for corporates looking for a multi-bank interface.

Where standardisation is concerned, the completion of SEPA migration is contributing to an increase in adoption of ISO 20022 XML among corporate clients. This is likely to continue to grow in the next couple of years as companies currently relying on third-party conversion services look to adopt ISO 20022 as their standard bank interface.

Download our Free Treasury App for mobile and tablet to read articles – no log in required.

Download Version Download Version