- Bank Islam Malaysia to make the switch to SWIFT and join hundreds of other banks around the world in using the service
- It is likely to lead to higher fee-based income for the bank, but also to easier and more transparent online money transfer services for the end user
- “This initiative will not only enhance customers experience, but also increase business efficiencies”, said senior bank figure
A leading bank in Malaysia has switched over to using SWIFT’s Global Payment Innovation (GPI) service.
Bank Islam Malaysia’s move, which is intended to assist those who are making international money transfers, will mean that there are now more than 550 banks which use SWIFT GPI.
These banks are located across the world and exist in more than 200 nations.
Those who use the new service at Bank Islam Malaysia will receive a wide variety of benefits.
Online money transfer is expected to be more efficient as a result, while users will be able to enjoy end-to-end tracking of their payments and orders – in real time.
This latter service will, crucially, be able to be offered without the bank being in breach of its obligations from a compliance perspective.
It is also expected that the level of transparency around the charges involved will also go up – leading to a better service for the end user.
According to Mohd Muazzam Mohamed, who serves as CEO of the firm, there is also a revenue increase dimension to the move too.
The firm expects that it will receive a rise in what is known as fee-based income as a result of the change – and that it expects to see a jump of around 15%, or more, over the course of the next year.
“This initiative will not only enhance customers experience, but also increase business efficiencies”, he said in a statement.
“Bank Islam’s corporate customers now are in a better position to pay for international goods and services in a fraction of the time, shorten their supply cycles and reduce their exposure to foreign-exchange (forex) risks, as well as receive the real-time end-to-end view of their cross-border payments, costs and charges involved”, he added.
In another positive development for the bank, it was revealed that clearance rates of 95% and higher exist for its current SWIFT payments offering, Straight-Through Processing.
It has been given an award in recognition of this by Citibank Malaysia.
According to Mohd Muazzam, this development was “indeed an honour”.
“This prestigious award proves the level of effectiveness in adhering to correct SWIFT format and standards. This is indeed an honour and reflects positively on the bank for the high execution success rate”, he said.
“Going forward, we will continuously improve our internal payment processes to ensure we achieve and maintain the highest possible standard”, he added.
To find out more about developments like these in the cross border payments industry, just head over to our news pages.
