SWIFT to help NBU develop payments infrastructure

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in conjunction with SWIFT will launch a project to bring Ukraine’s payments infrastructure in line with the international ISO 20022 standard.

"Payment systems’ performance plays an important role in the operation of modern economy. Moving to ISO 20022 is part of a wider development initiative intended to transform Ukraine’s payments infrastructure. The project aims to modernize Ukraine’s financial infrastructure to improve the country’s competitiveness and integration with global markets," NBU Deputy Governor Serhiy Kholod said.

The NBU notes that one of the project’s objectives is to bring the System of Electronic Payments of the NBU (SEP) in line with international standards for financial messaging in order to harmonize Ukraine’s payment area with that of the world; expand payment details by adding supplementary information; raise the level of services and the effectiveness of payments; enhance the capabilities of payment instruments to benefit banks and their clients; take payments automation to the next level.

In the future, these efforts will simplify the interaction between Ukrainian and international payment systems through the use of straightforward and globally accepted standards.

SWIFT will provide the NBU with its ISO 20022 expertise and support to help the Ukrainian regulator transform the country’s payments infrastructure.