Fine Tuning for a Swifter Tempo

At the latest MEA Finance roundtable hosted by SWIFT and the UAE Banks Federation, entitled - The Journey Towards Frictionless Crossborder Payments, the need for, and movement toward faster and smoother payments was avidly discussed with numerous viewpoints and observations making for an informative and enjoyable debate on this matter of key importance to banks, businesses and economies in the region

The push to make end-to-end money movement more instant, secure and transparent across borders is driving the payments industry to continuously look to improve the user experience. The financial services industry is in the midst of a significant transformation that was accelerated by the outbreak of the pandemic three years ago.

From ride-hailing apps to instant food and grocery delivery to voice-command musical and cinematic playlists, customers everywhere are clamoring for real-time conveniences. Global businesses are turning to financial institutions and fintech partners for payment solutions that are instant, secure and transparent in the face of increasing customer demand for seamless, intuitive and mobile-centricity digital self-service.

“The easy and intuitive experiences offered by leading online retailers and tech platforms have heightened customer expectations in financial services,” said EY. To meet the growing demand, payment solution providers are turning to the latest digital innovations to transform the cross-border payments experience for treasurers, their beneficiaries and their customers.

Cross-border payments typically require three to five days of end-to- end processing before reaching the intended recipient and the shortcomings are compounded by high costs, lengthy settlement times and opaque processes.

However, the real-time capability is revolutionising cross-border payments. Globally, several initiatives and technological developments are fasttracking the various real-time borderless payment trends. The growth of borderless e-commerce, cross-border B2C payments and web-centric transactions in the Middle East are also driving the demand for cross-border real-time payments.

MEA Finance in partnership with SWIFT and the UAE Banks Federation hosted an exclusive roundtable themed The Journey Towards Frictionless Crossborder Payments in Dubai, where senior other financial institutions to enhance cross-border payments experience and cut costs for end-customers.

Jamal Saleh, the Director General of the UAE Banks Federation (UBF), in his opening remarks, said that the world is turning into a fully global village where cross-border payments have to be as seamless as domestic payments. Saleh said that he expects the initiatives that are being implemented by the UBF and the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) to nearly or fully eliminate the friction in international payments.

Sido Bestani, the Managing Director of the Middle East Africa India Sub Continent at SWIFT, opened his welcome remarks by highlighting the monumental challenges in the payments industry. He said that the payments landscape representatives from across the financial service sector shared insights on the foundation of the cross-border payments industry and explored new ways to address the complexities of providing secure and ubiquitous payments.

Correspondent banking—in which one financial institution carries out transactions on behalf of another, often because it has no local presence—has been instrumental in facilitating crossborder payments for centuries. Several banks in the Middle East have made headway in expanding their services and are exploring how the new innovative financial technologies can better support their businesses while partnering with remains fragmented, and it includes instant payment systems, automated clearing houses and digital wallets— which creates a lot of challenges and opportunities, at the same time.

Bestani identified the prolonged pandemic and growing demand for realtime, transparent and low-cost crossborder payments among the trends reshaping the payments landscape.

Presentations

Shirish Wadivkar, the MD, Global HeadWholesale Payments & Trade Strategy at SWIFT, opened his presentation by shedding light on the projects that the company has been working on over