SWIFT will use Microsoft Azure for payments

Microsoft has announced a partnership with SWIFT. SWIFT is now going to use Azure to make payment transfers, reports ZDNet.

SWIFT is a payment messaging service that processes payment messages for over 11,000 financial organisations in over 200 countries. Currently, these transactions are processed by sending payment messages via the SWIFT network, using on-premise installations of the SWIFT technology.

With the new system, that technology has to be placed in the cloud, improving speed and security. The two companies claim to have created a cloud-native proof of concept to host the SWIFT infrastructure and enable payment transfers via Microsoft Azure.

Proof of Concept

That proof of concept was made for Microsoft’s internal finance department. The tech giant claims that this department manages more than $150 billion in resources, and supports more than $400 billion a year in SWIFT-based payments. It thus provides support for activities in more than 190 countries.

In the new system, the department, Microsoft Treasury, sends a wire instruction via SAP to Azure, which is then validated by machine learning algorithms. After validation, the instructions are sent to SWIFT via Microsoft’s SWIFT installation. SWIFT validates the instructions and then sends them to the corresponding bank. Once the bank has completed the instructions, it sends a confirmation to Microsoft.

“This is a big leap forward in demonstrating the capabilities of the cloud for improving the efficiency of the back office,” said Arnaud Boulnois, head of customer platforms at Swift. “SWIFT continues to look for ways to reduce and remove friction, and eliminate inefficient operations within the payment services ecosystem.”

The first payment via Azure has already been completed. Soon the solution should also be available to their customers.