SWIFT Teams up with Fintech Symbiont to Pilot a Blockchain Project

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) has partnered US-fintech Symbiont in order to pilot a blockchain project.

The project aims to automate corporate action workflow using Symbiont’s Assembly technology platform. By tapping into the platform's smart contracts and blockchain capabilities, SWIFT will be able to improve the networking of the 11,000 plus institutions connected to SWIFT at a global level.

In essence, corporate action data from SWIFT messages will be translated by SWIFT's translator tool and uploaded in Symbiont's blockchain. According to SWIFT representatives, Symbiont's smart contract technology can compare information shared between participants and flag any inconsistencies, contradictions or discrepancies.

The same source highlighted that bringing Symbiont's smart contracts together with SWIFT's extensive network can enable both entities to automatically harmonise data from multiple sources of a corporate action event thus improving efficiency.

The collaboration effort also includes companies such as Citigroup Inc., Vanguard and Northern Trust. For now, the pilot will be tested by a select group of participants, and their feedback will allow SWIFT to assess whether to expand it to the wider community.

(Source: The Paypers)