Critically evaluating SWIFT’s strategy as a monopoly in the fintech business

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to understand how SWIFT has become the monopoly in terms of the digital payment transaction industry. The methodology adapted in this paper is qualitative secondary research case study method. The study undertook a literature review analysis where the literature of more than fifty research papers and reports were analyzed and themes were generated. Hence twelve such themes evolved and then thematic content analysis was executed through grounded theory method. The reliability of the data source mentioned were taken from relevant organizations involved in cross border payments and validation of the reports were done by experts in this field of financial ecosystem. SWIFT still enjoys monopoly in the market in terms of its huge network and the number of banks it partners across 200 + countries in the world. But the new block chain technology launched by Ripple and Bitcoin and other small start-ups has posed a challenge to the existing traditional cross border payment system of SWIFT. Block chain has a peer-to-peer communication with no intermediary network required. It involves a simple transaction charge with the flexibility to share documents over network for better transparency. But SWIFT having a legacy incredibility and trust can ensure more reliable services to the businesses in cross border payments.