Swift is working with 25 leading cash management banks and 20 corporates to develop a white labelled transaction tracking service for ISO 20022 messages across the entire payment chain.

Under the programme, Swift will deliver a bank agnostic solution for payment initiation using the ISO 20022 format as part of a major effort to iron out inconsistencies in the use of the messaging standard.

The global co-operative will also help member banks offer their customers ready-made and white-labelled ISO 20022 payment tracking services by API or messaging channel, giving complete transparency on a payment’s status as well as confirmation of its receipt.

The standardisation of payment tracking data will enable financial institutions to each offer the same experience across their corporate customer base, regardless of their own geographical reach or local investment. Currently, where multi-banked corporates receive tracking information, it comes through different channels and in different formats.

Thierry Chilosi, chief strategy officer at Swift, says: “Adoption of ISO 20022 provides a unique opportunity to improve cross-border payments. Capturing rich data at source will enhance the entire ecosystem, driving us closer to our goals of instant and frictionless transactions. We’re delighted to be making it easy for our community to extend the benefits to their customers while simplifying and standardising access to services, such as tracking, which are so important to efficient corporate treasury.”

Roche, the global pharmaceutical company, has successfully implemented Swift’s new corporate API channel, with a key banking partner enabling direct access to tracking information for payments they send and receive.

Stefan Windisch, global head, InHouse Bank at Roche, says: “Having direct API access to Swift’s payment tracking system will provide us with more transparency and strengthen our ability to analyse overall payment performance. It will allow us to refine our instructions, better identify inefficiencies, and minimise erosion of value in cross-border payments.”

Chilosi says that many members of Swift’s working group are implementing and piloting the new capabilities, which will be extended across its wider community later this year.