Are you in search of a way through which you can quickly transfer money overseas? Yes, then SWIFT is made for you! SWIFT International payment system is a shortcut form of Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications and is used by banks to complete most transactions worldwide.

SWIFT helps banks and financial institutions transfer large amounts accurately without technical issues. A survey showed that 42 million messages were sent to more than 11,000 global SWIFT institutional members in a single day.

Who are the Users of the SWIFT International Payment System?

It was initially designed to facilitate communication about treasury and make transactions, but they gradually expanded their services. Now SWIFT International payment system is used by:

• Banks
• Trading House
• Brokerage Institution
• Security Dealers
• Asset management companies
• Clearing Houses
• Depositors
•  Exchanges
• Corporate Business Houses
• Treasury market participants
• Foreign Exchange
• Bank Brokers

What Services Does SWIFT offer?

The SWIFT offers seamless and accurate business transactions and services to its clients, assisting businesses to individuals. Here is a list of 5 benefits that you can get from SWIFT.

1.     Access to Applications

You can access a massive variety of applications through the SWIFT system. It includes different applications from Forex transactions to real-time instructions matching the treasury. It also helps to process payment instructions between banks. It facilitates both banking market infrastructure and securities market infrastructure.

2.     Business Intelligence

SWIFT had made a few changes in its system to facilitate business. Now, companies can easily see activities, messages, trade flow and see a dynamic and accurate time view of monitoring on the dashboard. The SWIFT system also helps to filter reports based on region, country, location, message types, and related parameters.

3.     Compliance Services

The SWIFT system aimed to get reports about financial crime compliance. It has the policy to Know your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering, and sanctions. The SWIFT services offer to report against all kinds of money laundering.

4.     Messaging and Software Solutions

The primary service of SWIFT is to provide a network for the smooth movement of messages. The network provided by SWIFT is secure, reliable, and scalable for businesses and financial market brokers. It also offers its services to various clients by messaging hubs, software, and network connections to make transactions globally.

5.     SWIFT and Sanctions

A group of 10 countries oversees SWIFT through central banks. SWIFT membership is tried to use as potential sanctions against members. Many countries want to work and stand with SWIFT due to its fast, seamless and secure communication system.

The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists and the U.K’s Royal United Services Institute conducted a research-based study on why banks are against cryptocurrency. According to the study report, 63% of bankers think of cryptocurrency as a risk rather than a benefit or profit.

The significant difference between both is that Cryptocurrency Blockchain is a decentralized service. Contrarily, the SWIFT International payment system is centralized. Due to this infrastructure, many banks are against blockchain systems. Yet, SWIFT is a better option because it is trustworthy and secure. On the other hand, cryptocurrency has a considerable risk of loss.

Russian Banks  Banned from SWIFT

Recently, on March 12, 2022, SWIFT made a statement that 7 Russian Banks would be excluded from the SWIFT system. Almost 50% of Russian banks are using SWIFT to make international transactions. Cutting off from SWIFT will significantly affect Russia in the international financial market. It can be a threat to Russia’s global communication.

Conclusion

SWIFT is the best way to send and receive money throughout the world. You can use it to get cash from digital asset platforms and the digital financial market. With its anti-laundering policy, SWIFT is 100 % safe to make transactions. So, if you have a transaction to add, then relax and let SWIFT do the rest for you!