Last month, DiXiO Experts had the chance to meet for our Offsite 3.0 in Antalya, Turkey.
It was the first time that I, (Tati – Digital Marketing Specialist at DiXiO), saw the entire team united in one place and got to know all the experts better.
During our “Speed Dating Session,” I had the chance to talk with Thierry, Partner and Head of Customer Success at DiXiO.
Thierry has more than 20 years of experience with SWIFT. He calls himself a “DiXiO Dinosaur.” He had the chance to follow the evolution of financial messaging in SWIFT, starting when everything was still on paper.
With so many years of experience and stories to tell, I decided to interview him and share more about his experience in this blog.
How was your first experience with SWIFT, and what did you do?
I joined SWIFT by answering a simple paper-based announcement in Le Figaro.
During my first days as an instructor at SWIFT, my parents thought it was a remake of the movie “The Firm” as I had a welcome BBQ at the Chateau In La Hulpe and stayed in a 4-star hotel. We had so much fun during the four days, as it was the Summer Education convention.
Being an instructor was such a great experience for me. I had the opportunity to travel worldwide, meet exciting people, and learn a lot about other cultures. As we also had to create the courses, I had the chance to learn about all the market initiatives and standards.
At that time, everything was still on paper. I remember that when I was giving courses, one week before, I had to send dozens of boxes full of user handbooks and exercises, together with promotional materials like pens and notebooks.
What are the main changes you have seen in the SWIFT Network?
The first change was opening the SWIFT door to new institutions. For a long time, SWIFT was limited only to banks that played a significant role in the market. This event completely changed the onboarding process. To support these new institutions, SWIFT had to adapt and speed up its onboarding process, which could take up to 6 months. Today it is possible to onboard every two weeks.
The second change was the introduction of the new internet protocol, SWIFT Net. The internet revolution allowed SWIFT to provide further services for these new institutions, especially in the security world, trade finance, and payments. I think that was a significant tipping point for SWIFT. SWIFT went outside its comfort zone, mainly in a very competitive area. That was the start of developing new interfaces like Lite1, Lite2, and today, Cloud. Still today, SWIFT is adapting its technology to fit market needs where completely new players, primarily fintechs, do not have the same timeline and budgets as the banks in the early 90s. This triggered some of the most recent developments at SWIFT, such as APIs that allow third-party software to easily integrate with SWIFT.
Today, all markets are adopting international standards like ISO20022 for different businesses, like securities and payments. All market players will finally be speaking the same language. This will create new opportunities for innovation – and SWIFT is working on it, an example being their new Transaction Manager.
That’s why at DiXiO, we are thrilled to see all these new initiatives, such as gpi and APIs, and fully support them.
What challenges do you see in this area?
We are in a moment when adapting to constant innovations is no longer a trend but necessary to survive in the market. Being up to date with all new solutions that appear in the market, like blockchain, APIs, etc., and understanding which role SWIFT will play in future innovations is a real challenge.
How is DiXiO helping financial institutions?
SWIFT is a secure network, which means that a lot of knowledge is required to keep everything working correctly behind the scenes. You can’t learn that only through studies because, alongside the protocols, you need to understand how the business works, and for that, you will need to have hands-on experience.
At DiXiO, we have experts who have worked on all aspects of SWIFT with over 15 years of both technical and business experience, . With our Serenity service, you can benefit from this expertise and gain peace of mind. Our experts are ready to help you to face any challenge you may face when using SWIFT services.
Are you looking for Serenity? Feel free to reach out to one of our experts to learn how we can help your institution!
