Swift is extending its gpi Tracker to cover all payment instructions sent across the network, enabling member banks to achieve full visibility over payments activity.
Available since May last year, the gpi Tracker is getting a major upgrade in November with the incorporation of an end-to-end transaction reference for all payment messages flowing over the network.
Available as an API plug-in, the tracking engine automatically provides status updates to all gpi banks involved in any gpi payment chain and allows them to confirm when a payment has been completed.
“Enabling end-to-end tracking of all payment instructions through to the end destination is a game- changer,” says Lars Sjögren, global head of transaction b Banking, Danske Bank. “Until last year, it was impossible for banks to gather this information on behalf of their customers, but the introduction of the gpi Tracker has addressed this challenge head on, transforming cross-border payments and dramatically improving the service that banks can offer to their customers in a very cost efficient way.”
Launched in 2017 in a bid to improve correspondent banking services, gpi already accounts for 10% of Swift cross border payment traffic. More than 150 banks, representing over 78% of the co-operative's cross-border payments activity have signed up to the service.
Navinder Duggal, group head of cash product management from DBS, one of the early gpi adopters in Asia, describes the extension to non-gpi payments as a major step forward: "It will significantly extend transparency and it will drive more banks to join the service, rapidly making gpi the new normal in cross- border payments."