Swift calls for industry collaboration to improve FX efficiency
Swift has published a report calling on the industry to work together to increase automation and remove the inefficiencies that hinder the global FX market, reports Jane Connolly. 
Trading in 180 currencies and exchanging millions of confirmation messages every trading day, the FX market suffers from bottlenecks and manual processes that hamper the exchange of information and straight through processing.
“While there is a high level of automation in FX markets already, the industry cannot be complacent and must work together to remove the remaining barriers to efficient exchange,” says Juliette Kennel, head of securities and FX markets at Swift. “Increased levels of automation through more use of and better use of standards will unlock higher operational, commercial and financial performance for all participants in the global FX market.”
Swift is adapting standards used in FX, in conjunction with industry, to lower the cost of doing business, increase returns on investment and reduce the levels of risk involved, but there is more to do.
“The industry must collaborate further to enhance standards by identifying the operational bottlenecks and barriers to great efficiency for all,” adds Kennel.
In its report, The value of standards in the FX markets, Swift calls for greater harmonisation through standards to drive down unnecessary costs, delays and risk. The release includes new changes to enable automation of the FX matching process.
