Swift
People: RBNZ names new assistant governor
NZ chief economist to step down; Vanuatu governor gets new term; Swift CEO to depart; Don Robert to step down from Bank of England Court
Report highlights cyber vulnerabilities in securities market
Structure of the market and number of participants makes sector increasingly difficult to safeguard
EU offers Iran sanctions relief with new clearing house
Iran retains access to Swift network despite US sanctions, but new clearing house could provide permanent loophole
Swift calls for standard API methodology
Open banking ecosystem will only succeed if standard-setters create universal method for API specifications, payment provider says
People: Mexico appoints board member
Jonathan Heath to join Bank of Mexico board; new deputy governor in Solomon Islands; Google’s Julien Blanchez to head Swift data analytics
RBA suffers payments outage after fire test
“Routine maintenance” led to loss of power at main data centre
Swift aims to have all members using GPI system by late 2020
Corrected: Network wants to integrate all 10,000 banks into the cross-border payment system
Sia given green light to access Eurosystem’s instant payment system
ECB permits first network provider to give access to new Tips platform
Bank of England says UK payment schemes must adapt to ISO messaging standard
BoE will hold consultation with interested parties in June
Swift starts work on pan-European real-time payment connectivity pilot
Messaging infrastructure aims to connect Tips and EBA Clearing’s RT1 system
Swift publishes results of ‘landmark’ DLT project
Swift says it is no longer a question of if, but when DLT will reach maturity
Bank of Russia upgrades interbank loan system
The central bank publishes a clutch of documents on financial technology; says hackers stole $6 million via Swift in a “common scheme”
Australia’s real-time payment system goes live to the public
System built by Swift will process payments in less than a minute and will utilise new PayID technology; Osko is first application launched on new platform
Renminbi struggles to gain prominence on global stage – Swift
Chinese currency usage only accounted for 1.61% of domestic and cross-border payments in December 2017; digitisation may be the key to currency’s success
Swift warns of greater cyber threats as security control deadline nears
Customers have until December 31 to implement 16 mandatory controls
Payments evolution will result in bank business model changes
Mid-sized banks will have to transform business models in order to remain relevant, says Swift, as fintech and globalisation threaten traditional practices
Swift helps US real-time payments movement gain traction
The Clearing House will use Swift’s messaging software as “gateway” to new system, set to go live in 2018 after pilot phase
Belize central bank toughens AML/CFT controls with Swift solution
Software scans payment messages in real time, alerting central bank of suspicious transactions; upgrade is latest in a series of initiatives deployed in improving AML/CFT compliance
Future of renminbi looks bright – Swift
The proportion of international payments denominated in renminbi falls to less than 2%, but the number of institutions using the currency increases
Swift to ‘streamline’ cross-border payments with DLT framework
Swift to launch blockchain proof of concept later this year utilising the ‘hyperledger fabric’
Swift rolls out new cyber defences for central banks
System uses machine learning to spot patterns and anomalies, so central banks and other institutions can act early on suspicious transactions
North Korea linked to Bangladesh Bank heist
North Korean IP address used in theft, claims Russian cyber-security firm; hacker group Lazarus’ fascination with financial gain “relatively new”
Federal Reserve Banks to work with Swift to make cross-border payments ‘more traceable’
US payment systems partner with Swift to improve cross-border payment speed and traceability; Federal Reserve Banks and The Clearing House make gpi available to clients
Swift records 29.5% decline in renminbi payments
Canadian dollar overtakes renminbi to become fifth most used for international payments; latest data shows slowdown of Chinese economy as well as volatility in exchange rate could be to blame