Ten Chinese banks onboard SWIFT gpi for faster cross-border payments

Three of the country’s Big 4 lenders are already live on the payments initiative.

Ten Chinese banks have gone live on SWIFT’s global payment innovation initiative (gpi) and this includes three of the country’s large state lenders Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank.

Also read: APAC banks to launch cross-border real-time payments via SWIFT gpi

The other seven lenders include Bank of Communications, China Minsheng Bank, China Guangfa Bank, Bank of Jiangsu, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, China Citic Bank, and China Zheshang Bank.

“This service will drive greater efficiency and transparency of cross-border payments, bringing significant advantages for banks and improved experience for our customers, particularly in Asia where cross-border business activity continues to be strong,” said Peng Hua, deputy general manager, operation management department at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Seventeen other Chinese banks have already committed to the SWIFT gpi, according to a media release, representing an estimated 86% of cross-border payment traffic in the Mainland.

SWIFT gpi is seen as improving the customer experience in the Belt and Road Initiative by increasing the speed, transparency and predictability of cross-border payments. This in turn leads to shorter supply cycles and faster shipping of goods on the customer end.

“We would like to take this opportunity to grow our involvement in gpi together with other Chinese banks in order to serve Chinese enterprises that are "Going global" and the construction of Belt and Road initiative by enhancing cross border service capability,” said Sun Shangbin, deputy general manager of clearing department at Bank of China.

Launched in January 2017, the SWIFT global payments innovation (SWIFT gpi) buoys cross-border payments in over 350 country corridors through its enhanced business rules and a secure tracking database in the cloud accessible via APIs allowing businesses to grow their international footprint, improve supplier relationships and achieve greater treasury efficiencies.