Swift GPI
Swift GPI is a Swift service that lets banks track a cross-border payment from end to end through a shared tracker, using a unique reference called the UETR. Banks in the chain confirm when funds are credited, so the sender can see where a payment is and what has been deducted.
How it works
Every GPI payment carries a Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference (UETR). Banks in the chain update the GPI Tracker, which Swift hosts in the cloud and makes available by messaging, a web interface or API. The tracker shows status, delays, rejections and fees, and supports stopping and recalling payments.
Swift says nearly 60% of GPI payments are credited to end beneficiaries within 30 minutes and almost 100% within 24 hours. Since 22 November 2020, supervised financial institutions and payment system participants must confirm when a customer credit transfer is credited, put on hold or transferred outside Swift.
The UETR is also mandatory in the MT 103, in field 121 of the user header, and intermediaries must pass it on unchanged. For treasury and reconciliation teams it is the key that links an outbound payment to its arrival without waiting for a statement. Swift notes that using the same UETR on the payment advice and the cover payment speeds reconciliation.
Example
A firm sends EUR 500,000 to its payout partner in Kenya at 09:00. By 09:20 the tracker shows the payment passed by the intermediary, with EUR 15 deducted, and pending at the beneficiary bank. Treasury counts EUR 499,985 as funds in flight, not as available cover, until the beneficiary bank confirms the credit.
Frequently asked questions
Does GPI make a payment faster by itself?
No. Speed still depends on each bank's cut-off times, compliance checks and local clearing. GPI makes the status visible, so a delayed payment can be found and chased.
What is a UETR?
A Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference. Swift requires it in field 121 of the MT 103 header, and each intermediary must pass it unchanged to the next message in the chain.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis tracks every transfer from send to settle, so money moving through a correspondent chain stays visible as money in flight until it is credited.
Compared with
Related terms
Sources
- Swift GPI · Swift
- Category 1, Customer Payments and Cheques, Standards MT November 2023, Message Reference Guide · Swift
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator