KBank successfully tests instant cross-border payments with SWIFT gpi

KASIKORNBANK (KBank) teamed up with SWIFT and a group of banks from Asia Pacific, to carry out the trial of SWIFT’s new instant cross-border payments proof of concept. This trial successfully demonstrated that by enabling gpi in real-time domestic systems, payments can be effected in seconds, even when they involve domestic settlement and non-gpi banks.

The debut of Australia’s real-time domestic payment system, the New Payments Platform (NPP), enabled SWIFT and a group of banks from Australia, China, Singapore and Thailand, to study the feasibility of enabling the gpi service in NPP and to review how this would enable these cross-border payments to be sped up.

Specific to KBank and NAB, the Thailand-Australia corridor trial was successful allowing the final leg to be cleared on the NPP, which operates 24/7. This created an opportunity to further remove frictions and ensure that many more payments can be credited in seconds rather than hours.

Mr. Silawat Santivisat, KBank Executive Vice President, said, “Today’s cross-border funds transfer is a valuable business stream for banks, due to flourishing international trade activities and personal funds transfer in various forms. Competition in this business has intensified amid introduction of new funds transfer technologies of financial institutions and fintech companies, each of which has different characteristics. SWIFT as the provider of global financial messaging, has confirmed that the SWIFT gpi “payments in seconds” experience can be extended seamlessly via real-time domestic payment systems to all NPP-enabled bank accounts. This is therefore a major milestone in the development of cross-border funds transfer service.”

KASIKORNBANK (KBank) teamed up with SWIFT and a group of banks from Asia Pacific, to carry out the trial of SWIFT’s new instant cross-border payments proof of concept. This trial successfully demonstrated that by enabling gpi in real-time domestic systems, payments can be effected in seconds, even when they involve domestic settlement and non-gpi banks.

The debut of Australia’s real-time domestic payment system, the New Payments Platform (NPP), enabled SWIFT and a group of banks from Australia, China, Singapore and Thailand, to study the feasibility of enabling the gpi service in NPP and to review how this would enable these cross-border payments to be sped up.

Specific to KBank and NAB, the Thailand-Australia corridor trial was successful allowing the final leg to be cleared on the NPP, which operates 24/7. This created an opportunity to further remove frictions and ensure that many more payments can be credited in seconds rather than hours.

Mr. Silawat Santivisat, KBank Executive Vice President, said, “Today’s cross-border funds transfer is a valuable business stream for banks, due to flourishing international trade activities and personal funds transfer in various forms. Competition in this business has intensified amid introduction of new funds transfer technologies of financial institutions and fintech companies, each of which has different characteristics. SWIFT as the provider of global financial messaging, has confirmed that the SWIFT gpi “payments in seconds” experience can be extended seamlessly via real-time domestic payment systems to all NPP-enabled bank accounts. This is therefore a major milestone in the development of cross-border funds transfer service.”