UBF, SWIFT host event on improvements, expansion of cross-border payments

ABU DHABI. Officials met on Sunday to discuss the revolution in cross-border payment services now available to banking customers and residents in the UAE.

The UAE Banks Federation, UBF, along with SWIFT, the financial messaging services provider, hosted the event to discuss the digital transformation taking place across the financial services industry.

The meeting, held in Abu Dhabi, brought together banking experts and specialists to focus on the evolution in payments, and how the widespread adoption of the SWIFT global payment innovation (gpi) can benefit banks and corporates in the UAE.

SWIFT gpi was launched in 2017, and has improved cross-border payments by increasing speed, transparency, and end-to-end tracking. Hundreds of thousands of cross-border payments, totalling over $300 billion, are sent every day using the new gpi standard. Currently, eight banks in the UAE use the service, with many more having agreed to participate.