Swift’s annual Sibos conference took place in China for the first time this week, and with it came the usual flurry of deals and announcements. We were also proud to see our market size data featured in reports launched by EY and Citi to coincide with the event. Here are some of the main announcements that took place both at and during the conference.

Unsurprisingly, integration with Swift’s network – which spans more than 11,000 financial institutions and corporations – played a big part in announcements. Mastercard has launched a new product that incorporates with Swift, Mastercard Move Commercial Payments, which will allow its banking clients to facilitate near real-time payments 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In a Forbes interview for my column published at the start of this week, we spoke to key figures at Mastercard about the new solution, which aims to tackle some of the key pain points banks face when handling corporate payments. 

On the consumer side, Swiss banking software provider Temenos launched a new software-as-a-service solution for cross-border payments, which it said would help fintechs quickly launch low-cost remittances services. Online ecommerce was also represented, with HSBC launching a solution to help banks enable merchants to easily receive EUR and GBP payments to local bank accounts. 

Coinciding with the location of this year’s conference, there were some APAC-focused announcements. TerraPay is collaborating with Tenpay Global to enable international transfers directly to one billion Weixin and WeChat users in China, while Thunes is rolling out a QR code solution designed to help foreign travellers make payments to vendors across the country. 

Finally, during Sibos’ opening plenary, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China Lu Lei said that the central bank would continue to embrace collaboration and interoperability with other institutions worldwide, having already taken steps to make it easier for foreign parties to invest in the country’s financial system.

Where can I find in-depth data on the cross-border payments market?

Joe Baker

LinkedIn

Joe is a Senior Copywriter at FXC Intelligence, writing and editing reports, news and analysis to support the company’s weekly content and client projects. Before joining FXC Intelligence, he worked as a B2B copywriter, journalist and editor covering a broad range of topics, including technology, transport, retail and the food and beverage industries. He has a BA in Philosophy from the University of Warwick.