Treasurers want FedEx-style payments

Payment transparency is a hot topic at this year's Sibos, the annual transaction banking conference organised by The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication Swift that is being held in Hong Kong this week. Corporates are no longer happy with simple e-portals capable of payment approval with completion notifications now they want FedEx-style real-time payment tracking.

Most financial institutions are today either rebuilding or retooling their technology platforms to meet these new high standards. Standard Chartered Bank is one such bank. Having recently rebuilt its fund administration and trade finance systems, it is now working on its custody platform. But, as Karen Fawcett, group head of transaction banking at Standard Chartered, explains,...