Choosing a SWIFT connectivity model for a regional PSP
A regional PSP was weighing direct SWIFTNet access against a service bureau, balancing cost, control and operational resilience as transaction volumes grew.
- Client
- Regional PSP (anonymised)
- Practice
- SWIFT & cross-border payments
The challenge
A growing regional payment service provider had outgrown the ad hoc SWIFT connectivity arrangement it had relied on since its earliest days on the network. As message volumes climbed, it faced a choice it had never had to make deliberately: connect directly to SWIFTNet, route messages through a service bureau, or move to a cloud-based access model.
Without a clear framework for comparing these paths against its own scale, message mix and internal technology resourcing, the PSP risked locking itself into a model that would not hold up as it continued to grow.
Our approach
Run Ventures ran a structured evaluation of the PSP's transaction volumes, message types and internal technology resourcing against each of the three connectivity options, weighing not just the upfront cost and complexity of each but how well it would scale with the PSP's growth trajectory and compliance obligations.
Working alongside the PSP's technology and operations teams, Run Ventures helped plan the practical onboarding steps a change of connectivity model would involve, from message flow mapping to the sequencing of a cutover that would not interrupt live traffic.
The outcome
The PSP settled on a connectivity model matched to its current scale and compliance obligations, with a clear rationale it could revisit as its business continued to change.
The subsequent migration was completed without disrupting live message flows, giving the PSP's operations and technology teams confidence that the new setup would support its growth rather than constrain it.
Facing a similar SWIFT decision?
Choosing or changing a SWIFT connectivity model? Our consultants can walk through the options against your volumes, message mix and resourcing.