Swift announces the launch of a new version of its Bankers World Online directory, an online query tool which has been significantly upgraded to provide more data coverage, a wider breadth of financial information (including data from Reuters, Dun & Bradstreet, and Moody's), and new intuitive features and functionalities.
The service is part of the SWIFTRef portfolio, an industry-wide platform for global payments reference data.
The new Bankers World Online service includes essential reference data, such as Business Identification Codes (BIC), International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN), Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI), national bank codes and more that are used to facilitate international payments and to fulfil new reporting requirements. It also includes important financial information from market data vendors and credit rating agencies, including credit ratings, shareholder information, balance sheet information, cash flows, and many more data sets about customers, suppliers and service providers.
"With the new Bankers World Online, SWIFTRef is building on its traditional strength in payment reference data to deliver the same high quality service in new areas, such as counterparty risk and regulatory reporting. This move meets the industry's demand for a comprehensive source of financial data, driven by an ever-growing number of regulatory (reporting) requirements," says Stephen Gilderdale, Head of New Business Development at SWIFT. "Integrating data from renowned sources such as Reuters, Dun & Bradstreet and Moody's brings our data offering to a new level."
Bankers World Online now provides instant online access to source the reference data a financial institution or corporate needs to correctly populate domestic, SEPA and international payments; to validate the required identifiers in regulatory reports or find the information needed to evaluate counterparty risk. The renewed service will improve payments straight through processing (STP) rates, support risk mitigation, reduce costs and time spent on manual repairs and investigations, while ensuring regulatory compliance.
In addition to the highly enriched content, Bankers World Online also offers enhanced usability and a direct response channel to enquire and report missing or incorrect data in a dynamic and user-friendly environment.