BBVA has become the first Spanish bank in its home market to join Swift’s new instant retail payments scheme, putting one of Europe’s largest banking networks at the center of the messaging giant’s push into consumer payments.
The move marks a major evolution for Swift, which has traditionally focused on interbank and commercial payment flows, as it seeks a larger role in the expanding instant payments landscape.
Swift said that more than 50 banks worldwide have already signed up for the initiative, including four major UK banks. Most recently, Garanti BBVA announced that it had joined the scheme, becoming the first sending bank from Türkiye to participate.
Benefiting Both Sides
The launch creates a chicken-and-egg dynamic: Swift needs major banks like BBVA and key markets such as Spain to participate, while banks have an incentive to join early to avoid being left behind if instant gain widespread adoption. Since Swift doesn’t operate deposit accounts, any funds movement solution it develops depends on banks serving the underlying payment providers.
“Swift needs the banks, but the same could be said for really any network,” said Hugh Thomas, Lead Analyst, Commercial and Enterprise at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Mastercard and Visa needed the banks more than the banks needed them before they got going, but now they’re mutually beneficial.”
“My suspicion is that banks will be looking at their potential remittance business from this new Swift solution from both a ‘can it win me new business?’ and also a ‘will not having it lose me business?’ perspective.”
BBVA Is the Logical Choice
BBVA said it will play a dual role in Swift’s new instant payments framework. The bank will act as a sending institution for outbound international payments, while also serving as Spain’s primary gateway for incoming payments from participating international banks.
BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank after Banco Santander, is a natural candidate to become the country’s first adopter of the scheme giving its longstanding relationship with Swift. Last year, BBVA joined a consortium of more than 30 partner banks working with Swift to develop a shared blockchain platform intended to serve as a common digital ledger for financial institutions worldwide.
