Swift, Lloyds deliver real-time cross-border payments in U.K. through GPI Instant

After tests with several banks that established Swift's ability to connect its Global Payments Initiative faster payments rail to domestic networks, the financial and messaging standards organization is activating the service in the U.K.

Swift is joining with Lloyds Banking Group in delivering GPI Instant, a high-speed cross-border payments rail, with the U.K.'s Faster Payments network. Lloyds is the first financial network to go live with Instant, essentially setting up remittance payments from anywhere in the world coming to the U.K. being routed in seconds with fee and foreign exchange transparency, security and full regulatory compliance.

Swift first launched GPI more than three years ago as a way to get banks within its network to operate through similar communication methods and processes as a way to halt any payment flow bottlenecks. Ultimately, it wanted the banks prepared to add needed technology like GPI Instant on top of legacy systems in a coordinated manner.

Swift expects adoption of GPI Instant to continue globally, bolstering its strategy to enable instant, frictionless payments from account-to-account anywhere in the world.

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"This is an important milestone in our strategic ambition to help banks meet growing global demand for instant and frictionless cross-border payments," David Watson, chief strategy officer at Swift, said in a Wednesday press release.

The GPI Instant service goes live after Swift conducted several trials with banks and payment infrastructures the past year with Lloyds, Barclays, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, DBS, Wells Fargo and BBVA involved in the process.

The tests resulted in cross-border payments to accounts in the U.K. in seconds and built on successful proof of concepts run by Swift in Singapore, Australia and Europe over the past two years.

"At Lloyds Bank, we strive to continually evolve and create innovative solutions for our clients," Ed Thurman, managing director and head of global transaction banking for Lloyds Banking Group, said in the release. "The GPI Instant service is set to be a game-changer in cross-border payments and we are very excited to be the first bank globally to offer the service here in the U.K."