How a SWIFT payment works
Each institution on the network is identified by a BIC, the business identifier code often called a SWIFT code. The sending bank writes a payment message and addresses it to the receiving bank's BIC.
If the two banks hold accounts with each other, one message is enough. If they do not, the payment passes through one or more correspondent banks, each of which can add time and a fee.
Swift, as the cooperative now writes its name, says that it connects more than 11,500 institutions in more than 200 countries and territories.
SWIFT and ISO 20022
Cross-border payment instructions on the network have moved from the older MT message format to ISO 20022, which carries more data in structured fields. Swift states that the period in which the two formats coexisted ended on 22 November 2025.
Why SWIFT matters to a product
SWIFT is the usual route for payments that no regional scheme covers: other currencies, other continents, large values. A fintech rarely connects directly, and reaches the network through a bank or a payment provider that does.
The practical consequences are costs that depend on the chain of banks, an instruction on who bears the charges, and arrival times that vary. Each bank in the chain screens the message against sanctions lists, which is why complete and structured party data matters.
SWIFT, SEPA or IBAN?
- SEPA
- A set of schemes for euro payments within Europe, with fixed rules and timings. SWIFT is global, works in any currency, and leaves price and speed to the banks in the chain.
- IBAN
- Identifies one account. A BIC identifies the institution, and an international payment often needs both.
- Correspondent banking
- The account relationships between banks that actually move the money. SWIFT is the messaging that instructs them.
Where SWIFT shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Accounts & IBANsCustomer accounts with their own IBANs, on the partner bank and the rails you choose.
- PayoutsMoney out to bank accounts, cards and wallets, on the rail that fits each payment.
- FXCurrency conversion with live rates, your margins and the liquidity provider you choose.
- Compliance reportingTransaction monitoring, the Travel Rule and regulatory reports, ready for your regulator.
Platforms that need it
Guides that go deeper
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.