INTESA SANPAOLO AT THE LEADING EDGE OF INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS

• The Bank will be among the first five in the world to launch the service starting from 2017
• SWIFT global payments innovation (gpi) guidelines presented at Sibos 2016 in Geneva
• Faster, clearer and better tracked cross-border payments

Geneva, 27 September 2016 – Intesa Sanpaolo announced today at Sibos, the world’s premier financial services event, that it will be one of the first five banks in the world to adhere to SWIFT’s gpi guidelines for cross-border payments. In doing so, the Bank demonstrates the leading role that it is playing in the future of cross-border payments.

Intesa Sanpaolo will offer SWIFT gpi compliant payments to its customers starting in early 2017. The Group is one of 21 financial companies that participated in the SWIFT gpi pilot and one of the banks that have helped SWIFT to design this solution and the future evolutions foreseen in the coming years.

A new initiative from SWIFT and the global banking community, SWIFT gpi is designed to significantly improve the customer experience in correspondent banking by increasing the speed, transparency and end-to-end tracking of cross-border payments.

Specifically, this will allow Intesa Sanpaolo’s customers to make international payments that are fast (even same day, time zones permitting), clear and, above all, trackable, allowing them to know the status of their transactions at any time. More than 80 banks worldwide will participate in the project, accounting for more than 71% of SWIFT cross-border payment messages.

Stefano Favale, Head of Global Transaction Banking of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, commented: “Instant payments will become normal in the payments industry, especially at a national level. Therefore, the challenge for the banking world is to build a new “customer experience” for cross-border payments, for the benefit of the general public and the customer companies. Participating in the main Eba and Swift international projects proves Intesa Sanpaolo’s commitment to innovating and searching for solutions to meet the new needs of customers.”

Mauro Pernigo, Global Transaction Banking - International Cash Management of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, added: “One of Intesa Sanpaolo’s roles as pilot bank will be to contribute to spreading awareness and the use of the SWIFT gpi by making this a successful event that will transform the world of payments.”

For information
INTESA SANPAOLO
Media Relations – Corporate & Investment Banking and International Media
Tel. +390287962052
stampa@intesasanpaolo.com