What is SWIFT - Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication?

SWIFT is a global member-owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services, it enables secure, seamless and automated financial communication between users.

It is a cooperative society headquartered in Belgium and owned by its member institutions with offices around the world. Its messaging platform, SWIFTNet began to replace Telex technology in 1977 and provides messaging services for financial organizations around the world (11,000 in 200+ countries). Its services allow for secure and efficient electronic communications between banks, financial services, market infrastructures and other organizations. In 2015, SWIFT linked organizations were exchanging over 15 million messages per day. The system protects data from unauthorized disclosure and ensures accuracy and completeness of messages. While it does transport financial messages, it does not hold member accounts, nor perform any clearing or settlement.