Union Bank of India (UBI) has implemented the TurboSwift platform from San Francisco-based BankServ to automate its international payment operations.
The BankServ software will be used by the bank to upgrade its Swift messaging operations and replace a previous system that required manual intervention.
TurboSwift automatically screens messages for errors and route incoming transfers to the correct location - tasks that both required manual intervention in the past.
The new system will also allow individual Union Bank branches to send international payments directly, instead of having to contact the wire transfer room in the bank's main office. Computers in the branches are connected to the central TurboSwift server in real time.
BankServ says TurboSwift was implemented in 12 working days by its distribution partner in India, Synergy Login Systems. Over 75 of the bank's 900 branches are now online with the system, says the US vendor, and there are plans in place to add a further 200 branches in the future.
Commenting on the implementation, Mary Ellen Putnam, BankServ's vice president for international business, says Union Bank has a significant number of customers who either reside outside the country or have family and friends who live abroad, so international transfers are important to its client base.
"By switching to an automated system like TurboSwift, we believe Union Bank will be able to support many of those services at a fraction of the previous time and cost," adds Putnam.