Standard Chartered processes India's 1st cross-border payment in 37 seconds

Bank completes cross-border payment from Australia in 37 seconds under Swift's new retail payments scheme, enabling near real-time credit to beneficiary bank

Standard Chartered Bank on Thursday said it has become the first bank in India to process a cross-border remittance under Swift's new retail payments scheme, completing the transaction from Australia to India in 37 seconds.

 

The bank said it enabled near real-time credit to the beneficiary bank in India, demonstrating its ability to complete end-to-end payments with participating banks in the country using Swift rails.

 

The transaction originated from Australia's Westpac and was routed through Standard Chartered using Swift's network.

 

According to Standard Chartered, the new retail payments scheme offers end-to-end payment tracking, upfront certainty on costs with no hidden charges, and ensures that the amount sent is credited to the beneficiary's bank account without any foreign exchange deductions.

 

 

"Our cross-border and network capabilities have been the cornerstones of the Bank's sharp focus across key markets including India. It is indeed a moment of great pride for Standard Chartered, India, to be globally the first bank to process a payment within seconds under Swift's retail payment scheme," said PD Singh, Chief Executive Officer, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered.

 

"We are enabling people all over the world to send money back to India just as easily as they can send money domestically. With this initiative they will get a truly best-in-class payments experience backed by the security of the banking ecosystem, and we're delighted to be working with the industry to make it possible," he added.

 

Kiran Shetty, Chief Executive of Swift India and South Asia, said the transaction highlighted the ability of Swift's existing global infrastructure to transform cross-border payments.

 

"This demonstrates the power of Swift's cutting-edge capabilities, leveraging its existing global rails to drive real transformation in cross-border payments. For India, the world's largest recipient of remittances, where they play a significant role in GDP, this evolution is particularly critical," Shetty said.

 

"By enabling greater speed, transparency, and an improved customer experience, bringing cross-border payments closer to the simplicity of domestic UPI, Swift is helping unlock a new standard for remittances. Standard Chartered Bank's initiative is a strong proof point that this shift is not only possible, but already underway in India, with the potential to redefine how remittances are experienced," he added.

 

Shetty also said continued regulatory support in India was helping accelerate the move towards a faster, more transparent and customer-centric cross-border payments ecosystem anchored by Swift.