Swift Is Connecting the Next Generation of Payments

Hey Payments Fanatic!

Swift is becoming more than a network for moving messages between banks. It’s increasingly becoming a layer connecting different payment systems, currencies and forms of money.

Today, Citi became the first bank to launch multi-market instant payments through the Swift payments scheme, giving its clients access to instant payment rails in markets including Australia, the UK and India through a single connection.

At the same time, Oracle is integrating with Swift’s blockchain ledger, allowing banks to connect their own tokenized deposit infrastructures and bring tokenized and traditional payments into the same cross-bank payment flows.

That combination is what makes these announcements interesting. Swift isn’t replacing local instant-payment systems or bank infrastructure; it’s increasingly connecting them.

And as payments become faster and more programmable, there’s another question worth asking: when is a payment actually complete? MassPay argues that it’s not when the sender releases the money, but when the recipient can actually use it, whether through a bank account, wallet, cash, or crypto.

Scroll down for the full story and more payment updates.👇

See you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Marcel

INSIGHTS

💡 MassPay: Your Money, Your Way, Today. MassPay explores why a payout should be measured by when the payee can actually use the money, not simply when the sender releases it. The report highlights three priorities: choice, speed, and certainty - from bank deposits and mobile wallets to cash pickup and crypto across 180 countries and 80+ currencies. With 1.3B adults still without a financial account and 81% of gig workers prioritizing platforms offering instant payouts, payout infrastructure needs to be designed around the payee’s local reality, with transparent fees, reliable routing, and clear delivery status. The core message is simple: the payment isn't complete when it's sent, it's complete when the recipient can use it. Read the full article here 

NEWS

🇬🇧 Checkout.com sees $150 million in profit, marking a significant financial milestone for the payments firm. The result strengthens the company's position ahead of potential investment activity and signals improving unit economics after years of heavy growth spending.

🇦🇪 Mambu and Mastercard join forces to simplify cross-border payments for banks in the Middle East. Mastercard Move will connect with Mambu's Intelligent Core to give banks a pre-built integration for cross-border payment capabilities within digital banking journeys.

🇳🇴 Vipps expands contactless payments with Klarna cards, allowing users to make contactless payments through Vipps with eligible Klarna cards. The Norwegian payments app is bringing its “blippning” functionality to Klarna cards, expanding contactless payment options for users. 

🇺🇸 Citi becomes the first bank to launch multi-market instant payments on the Swift payments scheme. Clients can now access instant cross-border payments in AUD, GBP, INR, and USD through a single account structure, with more currencies planned.

🇺🇸 Oracle integrates with SWIFT's ledger to help banks connect tokenized deposit infrastructures across institutions. The collaboration enables financial institutions to link tokenized deposit systems through a standardized connection to SWIFT's interoperability layer, reducing friction in cross-institutional digital asset settlement.

🇺🇸 Yuno launches in-person payments with multi-acquirer routing, unifying online and POS on one AI-native stack. Merchants can now route each in-store sale across several acquirers and accept Tap to Pay on compatible devices.

🇺🇸 Finastra launches AI-powered Repair Recommendations for modern payments processing, announced at Sibos 2026. The feature helps banks resolve payment exceptions faster by providing scheme-validated correction guidance across Swift, Fedwire, SEPA, and more.

🇦🇺 Volt receives an Australian Financial Services Licence, completing direct regulatory authorization across Australia, the UK and EU. The open payments firm's Australian entity, Volt Connect Pty Ltd, secured the AFSL to operate independently across all three jurisdictions.

🇳🇱 Adyen launches a first-to-market upgrade to Authenticate, its payment optimization module within the Adyen Uplift suite. The update uses machine learning to route each transaction to the best-performing authentication method in real time, with TooGoodToGo reporting an 11% conversion increase.

🌍 Caliza and Yala partner to support cross-border trade for African businesses. Yala will use Caliza's stablecoin-powered infrastructure to settle payments with international suppliers across multiple corridors.

🇺🇸 Bank of America expands payments capabilities with new intelligence and real-time services, announced at Sibos 2026. The bank is rolling out enhanced payment intelligence tools and real-time transaction services aimed at improving speed and transparency for corporate clients.

🇰🇷 KB Kookmin Bank and BNY sign an MOU on cross-border digital-asset payments and remittances. KB Kookmin Bank plans to use BNY's global payments network and Pay to Wallet capabilities to improve overseas remittance services for foreign nationals and international students.

🇨🇦 Shopify opens its full checkout flow to browser-based AI agents, including Shop Pay support. Three new WebMCP tools allow agents to inspect, update, and complete checkout with buyer authorization, rolling out to all eligible Shopify merchants.

🇦🇪 Visa launches the Visa Infinite Series in the UAE, a flexible premium platform for affluent cardholders. Issuers can shape curated experiences across travel, dining, wellness, and luxury retail to deepen engagement and loyalty.

🇺🇸 American Express now accepted at over 190 million merchant locations worldwide, with international acceptance more than doubling in four years. The payments giant says growth outside the U.S. has been driven by expanded coverage across merchants of all sizes in key global markets.

🇬🇧 Brite Payments launches Pay by Bank in the UK, bringing its account-to-account payment solution to British consumers and merchants. The Swedish open banking firm enables instant payments directly from bank accounts without card networks, expanding its footprint beyond the Nordic and European markets where it already operates.

🇮🇳 Kiwi seeks up to $40 million as the FinTech steps up its credit push. The Bengaluru-based startup offers bank-issued RuPay credit cards and credit lines for UPI payments, and the proposed round would be its largest after raising $24 million last year led by Vertex Ventures.

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