Altcoins News

Story: SWIFT Innovation Chief Tom Zschach Quits After Six Years

By Maheen Hernandez

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Zschach's Innovation Push. Zschach led SWIFT's biggest modernization effort in decades.

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Crypto Competition Heats Up. Ripple's XRP token became SWIFT's biggest headache during Zschach's tenure.

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What's Next for SWIFT. SWIFT hasn't named Zschach's replacement yet. Sources close to the company say they're looking for…

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Tom Zschach quit SWIFT. The chief innovation officer announced his resignation Monday after six years running the global financial messaging service's tech push.

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SWIFT built its reputation on connecting banks worldwide, but that dominance looks shakier now.

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Zschach led SWIFT's biggest modernization effort in decades. He launched the SWIFT gpi system in 2017, cutting cross-border payment times from days to hours for participating…

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The innovation chief also pushed SWIFT into blockchain experiments, though critics say the company moved too slowly.

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His team worked on ISO 20022 integration too. The new messaging standard promises richer data and better compliance tracking when it fully launches next year.

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Ripple's XRP token became SWIFT's biggest headache during Zschach's tenure. The San Francisco startup pitched banks on abandoning SWIFT entirely, claiming its blockchain could…

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Bitcoin and Ethereum also grabbed market share in remittances. Migrants sending money home discovered crypto often beat traditional wire transfers on both speed and cost.

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Central bank digital currencies added another wrinkle. China's digital yuan and Europe's digital euro projects threatened to bypass SWIFT entirely for government-backed…

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SWIFT reported 10% growth in gpi adoption last year, but executives admitted blockchain platforms were eating into traditional wire transfer volumes.

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And the crypto crowd wasn't buying SWIFT's gradual approach. "They're trying to put lipstick on a pig," one blockchain startup CEO said last year.

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SWIFT hasn't named Zschach's replacement yet. Sources close to the company say they're looking for someone with deep fintech experience who can accelerate digital transformation.

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The organization faces tough choices ahead. Should it keep upgrading its existing infrastructure or bet bigger on blockchain technology?

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