Cross-border transactions are a pillar of modern global commerce, but these types of payments can be challenging – subject to delays due to manual processes, lack of transparency, and slow exceptions handling.
When you consider the number of agents and roles involved in a transaction – financial institutions (originating and receiver banks), central banks/clearing systems, regulators and compliance authorities – foreign exchange when required – all facilitating the payment’s movement worldwide – it is not surprising that holdups or stoppages could occur at any point on the payment’s route. Furthermore, these restrictions, particularly in exceptions and investigations (E&I) processes, often result in costs and customer dissatisfaction.
The cross-border landscape is dotted with potential risks and an Exceptions and Investigation (E&I) case can arise for several reasons. And the response and processes to deal with this type of alerts tend to be disjointed, generating lengthy resolution times requiring human input and communication via emails, phone calls or even faxes with other agents.
In a new report titled “It’s time to transform exceptions and investigations,” Swift has estimated potential savings to the financial sector by switching to a more efficient processing system. It states that the potential industry-wide bottom-line impact could be as high as $1.6 billion and a time saving of 80% in comparison to traditional E&I resolution methods.
Swift’s enhanced Case Management solution is designed to evolve the current approach and transform how financial institutions oversee E&I cases.
How Case Management meets the E&I challenge
The richer data afforded by the adoption of ISO 20022 global standards means greater consistency and conformity in messaging between financial institutions. It augments Case Management by ensuring all messages are structured, data-rich and interoperable between banks, thus reducing errors and enabling accurate payments processing.
Enhanced Case Management includes features such as pre-check logic and business validation checks which deal with standard exceptions automatically. Furthermore, by using AI-driven workflows, predefined rules, and real-time data analysis,intelligent routing enables cases to reach the right agents immediately, identifying the correct recipient and reducing time spent manually resolving an issue. In addition, it also includes automated reminders, and prepopulated data fields of transacting parties, which minimise data mismatches and further accelerate resolution times.
One major E&I sticking point has been the opaqueness regarding payment status or the progression of the case – this has created uncertainty for both banks and clients. In contrast, Case Management offers real-time, end-to-end tracking, which allows all agencies involved in a transaction the ability to monitor the investigation’s status at each step, thereby fostering trust and accountability, and reducing stress for the customer.
Conclusion
Case Management provides a faster, more contained solution whilst creating greater transparency, helping to pave the way for a new era in cross-border payment investigations.
With cross-border payments expected to continue its growth trajectory, there is a greater need for more efficient and transparent systems to deal with the volume. Case Management represents a major leap forward, reducing the pain points whilst aligning with the global shift toward ISO 20022 standards.
Download Swift’s whitepaper “It’s time to transform exceptions and investigations” here and discover how you can benefit by transforming your E&I processes.
