SWIFT payments chief studying blockchain
How easy or hard is it to find talent with knowledge and insight on blockchain? That was one question Banking Day put to Wim Raymaekers, head of banking markets at SWIFT."There are a lot of technical experts out there," Raymaekers said."What they lack is a business understanding."SWIFT, he said, was "providing these business rules irrespective of the technology."These rules apply to the "new standard in cross-border payments," now due next year."It can work on SWIFT today, nostro, vostro," Raymekers said."It can also work on the ledger blockchain and new technology."Banks, SWIFT have asked, are to provide the new cross-border standard from next year."The only way to do it now is to do it on the existing platform," Raymaekers said.Asked why banks and SWIFT did not set things up this way earlier, he said it was used earlier."But the business rules were not agreed by the banks as a single promise."We will live up to these promises as a community."