The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

This book traces the history and development of a mutual organization in the financial sector called SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication. Over the last 40 years, SWIFT has served the financial services
sector as proprietary communications platform, provider of products and services,
standards developer, and conference organizer (Sibos). Founded to create efficiencies
by replacing telegram and telex (or “wires”) for international payments, SWIFT now
forms a core part of the financial services infrastructure. It is widely regarded as the
most secure trusted third-party network in the world serving 212 countries and over
10,000 banking organizations, securities institutions, and corporate customers.
Through every phase of its development, SWIFT has maintained the status of industry
cooperative, thus presenting an opportunity to study broader themes of globalization
and governance in the financial services sector.
In this book the authors focus on how the design and current state of SWIFT were
influenced by its historical origins, presenting a comprehensive account in a succinct
form which provides an informative guide to the history, structure, activities, and
future challenges of this key international organization.
This work will be of great interest to students and scholars in a wide range of
fields including IPE, comparative political economy, international economics, business
studies, and business history.