SWIFT will enable financial institutions to connect to its network and applications through public cloud providers Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft.

Customers will be able to connect to the SWIFT network through Alliance Connect Virtual – a new connectivity option that enables users to deploy SWIFT VPN connections with the selected public cloud providers instead of hosting hardware in their own data centres.

Moving to the public cloud has the potential to unlock significant benefits for financial institutions, reducing costs, increasing agility, improving automation, and streamlining compliance, all without compromising on security or availability. To that end, SWIFT has worked with each cloud provider to ensure compliance with its customer security programme (CSP) which continually raises the bar on cyber protections to help financial institutions strengthen their defences against cyberattacks and protect the integrity of the wider financial network.

Stephen Gilderdale, chief product officer at SWIFT, says : “Cloud technology has been game-changing for the financial industry over the past decade and will be a key enabler of future forms and flows of money. We are proud to build upon our existing success with cloud strategies to help our community securely access the SWIFT network across the globe with ease and to benefit from the power of the public cloud.”