SWIFT Go, SWIFT GPI, and ISO 20022: Why they matter for cross-border banking in Asia

As Asia’s banking sector continues to scale in both transaction volume and digital complexity, the modernization of cross-border payment infrastructure is no longer a discretionary move—it is a regulatory and strategic necessity. At the core of this evolution are three interconnected standards: SWIFT Go, SWIFT GPI (Global Payments Innovation), and the global messaging reform known as ISO 20022. Together, these initiatives are reshaping the speed, transparency, and structure of international money transfers, with direct implications for banks, central clearing systems, and end-customers across Asia. For financial institutions modernizing their core platforms, the ability to natively support these standards has become a key differentiator. Among core banking systems, TCS BaNCS, developed by Tata Consultancy Services (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), is emerging as one of the most widely adopted solutions for this shift, particularly in high-growth emerging markets.

The recent example of Khan Bank in Mongolia highlights the strategic role of TCS BaNCS in enabling AI-driven, ISO 20022-compliant, cross-border-ready banking infrastructure. As one of the largest national banks in Asia’s frontier markets, Khan Bank’s adoption of a fully modernized BaNCS deployment, inclusive of SWIFT GPI and Go capabilities, marks a pivotal moment not just for the institution, but for the region’s digital payment ecosystem.

Why Are ISO 20022, SWIFT GPI, and SWIFT Go So Crucial in Asia?

ISO 20022 is a global standard for financial messaging designed to replace the decades-old SWIFT MT formats. It enables structured, machine-readable data that supports automation, rich remittance information, and compliance transparency. The migration to ISO 20022 for cross-border payments and reporting is mandatory by November 2025, as per SWIFT’s global roadmap, with most global banks already transitioning to coexistence models.

In Asia, where intra-regional trade now accounts for over 60% of total exports and remittance inflows exceed $300 billion annually, the ability to process payments quickly and securely across jurisdictions has become foundational. Banks that remain on outdated MT formats risk being excluded from correspondent banking relationships, slowed down by manual reconciliation processes, and exposed to higher compliance costs.

SWIFT GPI adds a performance layer on top of this messaging upgrade. It enables real-time tracking, fee transparency, and service-level commitments between banks in the SWIFT network. With over 4,000 financial institutions already on board globally, GPI payments account for more than 85% of SWIFT cross-border flows, making it the new norm for international banking.

SWIFT Go, in contrast, is built specifically for low-value cross-border payments, typically under USD 10,000. It targets the growing demand from SMEs and migrant workers for affordable, trackable, and fast international transfers. In countries like the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Nepal—where remittances account for a large share of GDP—SWIFT Go is reshaping expectations around small-ticket financial flows.

How Is TCS BaNCS Supporting Payment Modernization at the Core?

TCS BaNCS is one of the few global core banking platforms that integrates ISO 20022, SWIFT GPI, and SWIFT Go functionality directly into its payments engine. Unlike systems that rely on external middleware or custom connectors, BaNCS embeds native support for pacs, camt, and pain message types, ensuring seamless compliance with ISO 20022 standards across the entire payment lifecycle.

For SWIFT GPI, TCS BaNCS includes built-in components for Tracker integration, end-to-end payment visibility, and performance monitoring, allowing banks to offer full transparency to their customers from initiation to settlement. For SWIFT Go, the platform enables rule-based routing, pre-validation of fees, and real-time FX options, which are critical for customer satisfaction in consumer and SME segments.

In Khan Bank’s deployment, the BaNCS platform has been used to build an intelligent, cross-border payment layer that ensures real-time monitoring, AI-based fraud detection, and compliance reporting—all aligned with Mongolia’s financial modernization goals. The result is a system capable of delivering SWIFT-aligned services in both remote and urban branches, without reliance on legacy switching or patch-based upgrades.

What Is the Regulatory and Institutional Landscape Around ISO 20022 in Asia?

Central banks and regulators across Asia have issued formal guidelines and timelines for ISO 20022 compliance. The Reserve Bank of India, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank of Thailand, and Hong Kong Monetary Authority have all either adopted ISO 20022 for their domestic RTGS systems or aligned their frameworks for international interoperability.

For example, MAS is spearheading ISO 20022 adoption through Singapore’s MEPS+ system, while India’s INFINET RTGS is ISO-compatible and gearing toward full migration in parallel with SWIFT’s global timelines. In Southeast Asia, the push for ASEAN Payment Connectivity aims to integrate ISO 20022 messaging with QR and UPI-style instant payment systems, forming a cross-border regional payment highway.

This regulatory alignment increases pressure on commercial banks to upgrade their infrastructure rapidly. TCS BaNCS provides these institutions with a ready-to-deploy platform that satisfies both regulatory compliance and competitive agility, especially for banks that operate across multiple jurisdictions or handle trade-intensive customer portfolios.

How Does BaNCS Compare to Other Core Banking Platforms?

TCS BaNCS competes with platforms like Temenos Transact, Infosys Finacle, Oracle FLEXCUBE, and Thought Machine Vault, all of which have introduced ISO 20022-compatible solutions. However, BaNCS differentiates itself in three key ways.

First, its end-to-end payments architecture supports both retail and corporate flows natively, including high-value, low-value, and instant payments across multiple schemes. Second, it supports AI-driven analytics directly within its compliance and transaction monitoring modules, a feature still under development in many competing systems. Finally, BaNCS’ track record in high-regulation environments, including public sector deployments in India, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, offers assurance to banks seeking robust multi-market rollouts.

Thought Machine offers a cloud-native smart contract-based approach, while Temenos emphasizes open banking APIs and Finacle leverages strong integration ecosystems. But in terms of deep payment standardization, SWIFT readiness, and ISO 20022-native workflows, BaNCS is currently among the most comprehensive solutions on the market.

What Are Banks and Analysts Saying About This Shift?

Institutional analysts tracking TCS see BaNCS’ payments modernization capabilities as a strong value differentiator, particularly in mid-tier banks across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. With the bulk of ISO 20022 upgrades expected to conclude between late 2024 and mid-2026, the platform’s plug-and-play compliance model provides clients with faster go-lives and lower integration costs.

Investors have also highlighted the growing recurring revenue profile of BaNCS deals, as banks typically sign multi-year managed services contracts tied to regulatory updates and product evolution. TCS has confirmed in its earnings commentary that BaNCS-led deals now form a larger share of new digital banking engagements, particularly in payments, custody, and capital markets.

Khan Bank’s implementation was indirectly referenced in analyst calls as a template case study for how frontier-market banks can meet global standards without overhauling their entire infrastructure stack. The fact that the project integrates real-time international payments with national compliance requirements in Mongolia is seen as proof of BaNCS’ adaptability and commercial relevance.

What Is the Future of Cross-Border Payments in Asia?

The ISO 20022 migration is only the beginning. Over the next five years, the Asian cross-border payment ecosystem is expected to evolve toward real-time gross settlement interconnectivity such as the India-Singapore UPI linkage, CBDC-compatible messaging layers using ISO 20022 for digital currencies, AI-enriched fraud detection and AML screening within payment orchestration layers, and instant SME remittances and B2B cross-border flows backed by blockchain-ready systems.

TCS BaNCS is already investing in payment innovation labs that support sandbox testing, interoperability with new central bank rails, and API-driven FX engines to capture these use cases. By positioning itself as a payments-first core, BaNCS allows banks to shift from compliance mode to competitive growth mode.

A Strategic Inflection Point for Asian Cross-Border Finance

For banks in Asia, payment modernization is no longer about upgrading one module—it is about aligning the entire banking core with a world moving toward real-time, transparent, and standards-driven cross-border financial ecosystems. The adoption of ISO 20022, SWIFT GPI, and SWIFT Go is not just a compliance burden; it is a business enabler that improves customer trust, speeds up settlement, and unlocks data-driven intelligence.

TCS BaNCS, with its embedded support for these standards, provides a future-ready foundation. Whether it’s powering low-value remittances in rural Mongolia or enabling trade settlements between Singapore and Thailand, BaNCS is helping banks make the leap from legacy bottlenecks to intelligent, real-time global connectivity.