Codifying and promoting the use of common formats in the corporate-to-bank payments space will help reduce costs and simplify implementation processes for corporates that are managing multiple bank relationships.

CGI's aim is for corporates to be able to use the same message structure (for each message type) to interact with all of their transaction banks across the globe for payments initiation, account and status reporting. Around 60 financial institutions, corporates, vendors and market infrastructure providers are now part of the CGI initiative, which provides a forum for the key stakeholders involved in corporate-to-bank communication to meet, discuss and progress the use of harmonised messaging. SWIFT supports the CGI initiative both as contributing member and group facilitator.

Marc Gheyskens, Solution Manager, SWIFT for Corporates, said: "Since the global financial crisis, more and more corporates have begun managing multiple bank relationships. That helps spread risk, but managing multiple relationships can be costly and challenging for both sides. Corporates have to implement different channels, formats and data requirements, while banks have to manage and maintain their proprietary protocols. That's where CGI comes in, providing a place for banks, corporates, vendors and market infrastructure providers to work together to define a harmonised approach on how to implement corporate-to-bank standards".

Harri Rantanen, Financial Institution Co-Convener of the CGI Group and Global Manager of Formats & Standards at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banke, said: "You might think that it'd be challenging to bring the CGI's diverse membership together to collaborate in area that has been traditionally been competitive. But with harmonisation, efficiency and low total cost of ownership key priorities across the industry, it's actually been easy and already very productive, as the publication of these guidelines show. There is and will continue to be pressure to expand the successful CGI collaboration model to other areas of the payments domain."

Susan Colles, Working Group facilitator of CGI and head of Global Standards for Bank of America Merrill Lynch - Global Treasury Products, said: "Standards collaboration across the industry - corporations, financial institutions, vendors and bank associations -- is the driving force behind CGI. CGI has taken the lead in demonstrating the effectiveness of providing a harmonised global standard that can be used by corporates with their multi-bank relationships and by vendors in their development efforts to support messages that interface with more than just one bank."