City Bank records global first in SWIFT retail payments rollout

City Bank PLC has become the first bank globally to successfully validate and execute live transactions in both the sending and receiving roles under the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication’s (SWIFT) new retail cross-border payments scheme.

More than 50 major banks across 17 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Spain, Thailand, the UK, the Middle East and the US, have committed to adopting the framework. City Bank is currently the only Bangladeshi bank participating in the SWIFT scheme. The bank joined the initiative in February 2026 and achieved full project go-live readiness in just five months, according to a press release.

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Traditional cross-border payments and remittances often face delays and high costs due to multiple intermediary banks, varying processing times and diverse regulatory requirements. SWIFT developed the new framework to enable faster, more predictable and transparent international transfers for retail customers and small businesses.

The framework offers guaranteed full-value transfers without hidden intermediary deductions, upfront fee transparency, end-to-end traceability, faster settlement, predictable delivery times and 24/7 gateway availability.

City Bank completed its first transaction in one minute, while the second was completed in just 57 seconds on June 22, 2026. On June 23, acting as the receiving bank, it coordinated with HDFC India to clear and route an incoming payment from India to another local Bangladeshi bank.

The achievement was recognised at an event, titled “Streamlining Inward Remittances and Enhancing Operational Efficiency Across Bangladesh’s Financial Sector”, jointly organised by SWIFT and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh.

Md Habibur Rahman, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, and Kiran Shetty, chief executive officer and regional head for India and South Asia at SWIFT, handed over a crest to Mashrur Arefin, managing director and CEO of City Bank PLC, at the event in Dhaka.

Banks worldwide have been progressively adopting the framework since June 2026, supporting the G20’s goal of making cross-border payments faster, more transparent, predictable and efficient.

Mahia Juned, additional managing director, chief operating officer and CAMELCO; Mesbaul Asif Siddiqui, deputy managing director and head of wholesale banking; and Arpita Ghosh, account director for India and country manager for Bangladesh, were also present.