Corporate participation on SWIFTNet on the rise

As banks come closer to completing migration of their FIN messaging requirements to the IP-based SWIFTNet platform, the potential for banks to use this new network to also offer new services to corporate customers is becoming clearer. In 2001, SWIFT voted to extend the right to access its global network to corporate participants, but only under a scheme known as Member Administrated Closed User Groups (MA-CUG). Although the concept has been around for a while, it is only now that practical consideration is widely being given to how it might work in practice and how banks and their corporate clients could benefit.