Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications

(SWIFT). A co-operative organisation created and owned by banks that operates a network which facilitates the exchange of payment and other financial messages between financial institutions (including broker-dealers and securities companies) throughout the world.

It is a major international financial telecommunications network that transmits international payment instructions as well as other international financial instruments or messages.

A SWIFT payment message is an instruction to transfer funds; the exchange of funds (settlement) subsequently takes place over a payment system or through correspondent banking relationships.

See also

• Bank identifier code