SWIFT to open gpi to e-commerce and DLT platforms
Published: January 31, 2019
Brussels - SWIFT announces a proof-of-concept (PoC) to trial gpi Link, a gateway to interlink e-commerce and trading platforms with SWIFT gpi – the new standard in cross-border payments.
gpi Link will seamlessly connect gpi members to multiple trade platforms thereby enabling gpi payment initiation, end-to-end payment tracking, payer authentication and credit confirmation. The gateway will enable the continuous monitoring and control of payment flows and the subsequent movement of goods by those trade platforms, while to ensure global integration and interoperability it will support application programming interfaces (APIs), as well as SWIFT and ISO standards.
The first stage of the PoC will work on R3’s blockchain platform, Corda, and aims to bring the benefits of gpi payments’ speed, ubiquity and certainty to distributed ledger technology (DLT)-enabled trade. The PoC addresses the need for DLT-based commerce to be supported by global, fast, secure and transparent settlement using fiat currencies by enabling ‘off-ledger’ payment settlement based on gpi.
In the PoC, corporates using the R3 platform will be able to authorise payments from their banks via gpi Link; gpi payments will be settled by the corporates’ banks, and the resulting credit confirmations will be reported back to the trade platforms via gpi Link on completion.
While the PoC initially addresses R3’s DLT-based trade environment, it will be extended to support other DLT, non-DLT and e-commerce trade platforms.
- New “gpi Link” gateway will enable trade platforms to offer fast, secure and transparent settlement of payments by gpi banks
- gpi Link will allow gpi payment capabilities to be embedded directly into e-commerce and other trading platforms
- First gpi Link proof-of-concept to launch with enterprise blockchain software firm, R3