Treasury Technology
Published  8 MIN READ
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The Next Generation of Financial Messaging for Corporates

Finastra has a long heritage of providing SWIFT connectivity and service bureau services to corporations and financial institutions through its predecessor company D+H, and together with the Misys Confirmation Matching Service (CMS), is the industry-leader in confirmation matching solutions for foreign exchange, money market, FX options, commodities, and derivatives transactions, providing these services to over 1,250 corporate and financial institution clients worldwide. With over 200 corporate clients using our SWIFT connectivity services, and four SWIFT-accredited service bureaus globally Finastra has a detailed understanding of the specific needs of corporate treasurers and finance managers, which are often distinct from those of financial institutions. In particular, corporate users have expressed a strong desire for a single, integrated connectivity platform to complement their existing ERP, payment and treasury management systems, building on Finastra’s existing expertise and solutions developed over many years. This client engagement process has given rise in Finastra’s innovative new solution, Total Messaging for Corporates.

Understanding the corporate challenge

A priority for corporations across all industries and regions is to achieve visibility over cash and improve efficiency and control over transactions. This is particularly difficult for businesses operating internationally that often have a large number of accounts, multiple banking relationships and disparate communication channels to support their domestic and cross-border payment and information requirements. These problems are exacerbated further by the growing threat of fraud and data security breaches, which has emphasised the importance of best-in-class controls, and the diversity of message and file formats adopted by the banking and vendor community.

Corporate treasurers are therefore seeking a cohesive way of communicating with their banking partners globally that embraces industry best practices in efficiency and security. SWIFT, the messaging platform used by banks to exchange transactions, through which corporations can also communicate with partner banks, is typically considered the gold standard for connectivity. However, many corporations lack the capacity and skills internally to implement and manage SWIFT, so Finastra has built up a comprehensive service offering which enables clients to outsource financial messaging, connectivity and integration. This includes support for a range of other channels and communication protocols in addition to SWIFT, allowing the corporate to outsource all its bank connectivity even when not all bank partners or banking services are accessible through SWIFT. In addition, Finastra provides high performance solutions for sanctions screening, conversion of formats between banks and internal systems for straight-through-processing of transactions and information, and efficient and timely handling of exceptions.

Creating a cohesive experience through a single platform

Building on this experience, expertise and solutions developed over many years, and extensive interaction with corporate treasurers and finance managers to understand their needs and challenges, Finastra has brought together its messaging, transformation and authentication solutions into a Total Messaging for Corporates platform (Box 1).