City Bank under new Swift retail payments scheme

City Bank became the first bank globally to validate and execute live transactions in both sending and receiving roles under Swift’s new retail cross-border payments scheme, said a press release.

Over 50 major banks across 17 countries, including participants from key corridors in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Spain, Thailand, the UK, Middle East and the US, have committed to adopting this framework.

City Bank is the only bank from Bangladesh currently participating in the Swift scheme. It joined the initiative in February 2026 and achieved full project ‘go-live’ readiness in 5 months.

The bank completed its first transaction in 1 minute and the next in just 57 seconds on June 22. On June 23, as a receiver, City Bank coordinated with HDFC India to clear and route an incoming payment from India to another local Bangladeshi bank.

Banks around the world have been progressively going live under the new framework since June 2026, supporting the G20’s objectives of improving the speed, transparency, predictability and efficiency of cross-border payments while eliminating hidden intermediary charges.

City Bank’s achievement was recently recognised at an event on ‘Streamlining inward remittances and enhancing operational efficiency across Bangladesh’s financial sector’, jointly organised by Swift and the Association of Bankers Bangladesh.

During the ceremony, a crest was presented to Mashrur Arefin, managing director and chief executive officer of City Bank, by Md Habibur Rahman, deputy governor of the Bangladesh Bank, and Kiran Shetty, chief executive officer and regional head – India and South Asia of Swift.

Senior representatives from City Bank, including additional managing director, COO and CAMLCO Mahia Juned, Mesbaul Asif Siddiqui, DMD and head of wholesale banking, and Arpita Ghosh, account director – India and country manager – Bangladesh, were also present.

Traditional cross-border payments and remittances often face delays and high costs due to multiple intermediary banking legs, varying global processing times and diverse regulatory requirements.

Intermediary fees also reduce the final amount received by beneficiaries. To eliminate these barriers, Swift designed this new payment framework to ensure retail customers and small businesses experience fast, predictable, and transparent international transfers, the release said.