Inter-bank co-operative Swift is to shut down its proprietary social network Swiftcommunity.net, after the forum failed to gain traction among users.
Launched to great fanfare in 2007, Swiftcommunity.net was intended to act as an online equivalent to the Society's annual operations forum Sibos, where correspondent bankers from around the world would gather to meet their peers and debate industry issues.
Yet despite considerable investment in the development of the site over the years - and the enthusiastic endorsement of the Swift executive committee - the venture failed to capture the imagination of the industry and soon became a digital backwater.
In a statement, Swift says the take-up of various social media alternatives in recent years has led to "a steady decline in swiftcommunity.net usage. As a matter of practicality, we have therefore decided to discontinue the service at the end of 2013."
Swift says it will point users to publicly available alternative platforms, such as LinkedIn and cloud-based document sharing Websites like Box.com. While no historical data will be migrated, group owners will be given six months to save their group's content if they so choose.
"As the financial industry's cooperative, we have always been committed to the advancement of community dialogue, online and off, as well as to digital innovation," says Swift. "While the tools we use will continue to evolve, the 'swiftcommunity' spirit will be kept very much alive on popular social channels."