SWIFT-connectivity for corporates is advancing forward
January 13, 2009 - Banks profit from service potentials and combine CoCoNet’s banking server MULTIVERSA IBS with SWIFT channel.
An increasing number of corporates are using the secure and globally available SWIFTNet, which was originally founded for telecommunication message exchange between financial institutions. As practically each bank has a SAG (Swift Alliance Gateway) as point of intersection for the SWIFT communication, corporates, which for instance use CoCoNet’s MULTIVERSA IFP International Finance Portal, can reach any bank via SWIFT.
Through the enhancement of MULTIVERSA IBS International Banking Server by the additional access channel for the SAG corporate customers connected via SWIFT can now benefit from a distributed digital signature (DDS) as an end-to-end security exceeding the SWIFT transport security.
The extended and cost efficient connectivity opportunities are the basis for the increasing use of the SWIFTNet by corporates including the SME segment. Initialy large international enterprises were the focus of SWIFT with their corporate connectivity models SWIFT MA-CUG und SCORE. With the necessary SAG these options included to run quite complex systems. As an alternative SWIFT Service Bureaus could establish themselves by offering outsourcing services for theSWIFT technologie, so that the costly SAG was not necessary on-site of the corporates any more.
Since summer 2008 SWIFT offers the SWIFT Alliance Lite particularly for small and mid-sized companies. This connectivity is based on a security token provided by SWIFT and enables corporates with rather small payment transactions volume both a manual browser-based payment entry and the integration with the company’s ERP or treasury management system by means of a so called autoclient.
With this new access channel SWIFT aims to provide adequate connectivity solutions for any company size. Banks are asked to respond to the service needs of global companies and to offer data transmission via the SWIFTNet in particular through the SWIFT service FileAct. FileAct in contrast to FIN (for MT messages) is made for transmitting structured and unstructured messages. SEPA based files as well as the future XML based account information files (camt messages) are exclusively exchanged within the SWIFTNet via the FileAct service. The planned increase of corporate SWIFT users will lead to an extended use of the SWIFTNet for payment transactions.
For the data exchange via the SWIFTNet, CoCoNet recommends MULTIVERSA IBS banks to connect the banking server with the existing SAG channel, which at many banks is so far directly linked with the applications of the bank-end. With the connection of the SAG with the MULTIVERSA IBS all typical MULTIVERSA IBS banking server functionalities are also available for the SWIFT access channel. The main benefit of the additional functionalities for corporate customers lies in the end-to-end security with digital signature and encryption as well as extended verification options regarding the account authorisation, signature authorisation, the maximum amount and the format.
Banks can profit from the connection to the SAG channel with the banking server MULTIVERSA IBS by improving customer loyalty and by generating additional payment transactions business.
The increasing usage of the SWIFTNet by corporate customers underlines its importance as the only globally available and secure banking network. Against the background of this trend CoCoNet’s innovative e-banking solutions enable banks to tap the resulting potential for additional services.