Swift (network)

Roles that need it

• Payments Messaging Specialist (SWIFT)
• Payments Operations Analyst
• Payments & Cash Management Sales (Financial Institutions)
• IT Auditor

Skills it belongs to

• Payment systems and messaging (SWIFT, ISO 20022, SEPA, ACH, UPI)
• Operational resilience and ICT risk rules (DORA and equivalents)

Related concepts

• ISO 20022ISO 20022 is the international standard for financial messages, built from a common business dictionary and usually expressed in XML. Payment messages are grouped as pain (customer to bank), pacs (bank to bank) and camt (cash management, such as statements). It is the format of SEPA, T2, CHAPS and Swift cross-border payments.
• BIC (Business Identifier Code)The BIC, often called a Swift code, is the international identifier of a bank or other business, defined in ISO 9362. It has 8 or 11 characters: a four-character party prefix, a two-letter country code, a two-character suffix and an optional three-character branch code. Swift is the registration authority.
• Swift gpi (global payments innovation)Swift gpi is a service level for cross-border payments on Swift, launched in 2017, under which banks agree to credit funds on the same day where possible, show the fees deducted, pass remittance information unchanged and update a central tracker at each step. Each payment is followed end to end through its UETR.
• Correspondent bankingCorrespondent banking is an arrangement in which one bank (the correspondent) holds deposits for another bank (the respondent) and makes and receives payments for it, usually in a currency or country where the respondent has no direct access. It underpins most cross-border payments and requires due diligence on the respondent.

Sources

• ISO 20022, Swift (external site) accessed 31 Oct 2026
• BIC (Business Identifier Code), Swift (external site) accessed 31 Oct 2026

Updated 31 Oct 2026.