Job Description

ABOUT US

We’re the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services, headquartered in Belgium. We are the way the world moves value – across borders, through cities and overseas. No other organisation can address the scale, precision, pace and trust that this demands, and we’re proud to support the global economy.

We’re unique too. We were established to find a better way for the global financial community to move value – a reliable, safe and secure approach that the community can trust, completely. We’re always striving to be better and are constantly evolving in an ever-changing landscape, without undermining that trust. Five decades on, our vibrant community reflects the complexity and diversity of the financial ecosystem. We innovate diligently, test exhaustively, then implement fast. In a connected and exciting era, our mission has never been more relevant. Swift now has a presence in 200+ countries and legal territories to serve a community of more than 12,000 banks and financial institutions.

The crosas-border Payments Rules Specialist is responsible for the design, implementation, and governance payment rules standards across cross-border payment flows.

The role ensures that payment messages are compliant with regulatory requirements, aligned with local market practices, and structured to enable end-to-end Straight-Through Processing (STP) with no manual intervention.

The position acts as a bridge between Payments Operations, Compliance, Product, and Technology teams to guarantee data integrity, regulatory transparency, and high STP rates across the payment lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for ISO 20022 payment messages.
• Define and maintain payment data standards to support fully automated STP processing from initiation to settlement.
• Establish and document payment rules required to ensure end-to-end STP, including:
  • Mandatory and conditional data field requirements
  • Structured party and address data standards
  • Purpose codes and regulatory reporting fields
  • Valid usage of identifiers
  • Remittance data formatting rules
• Define validation and enrichment rules to reduce payment repairs, investigations, and returns.
• Translate regulatory requirements into structured ISO 20022 message requirements.
• Collaborate with correspondent banking partners to align on usage guidelines and payment formatting expectations.
• Support testing cycles to validate message compliance and STP performance.
• Maintain documentation and change management of payment market practices and internal implementation guidelines.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in Finance, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field.
• 4+ years of experience in payments, financial messaging, or correspondent banking.
• Strong knowledge of:
  • ISO 20022 payment messages and XML schemas
  • Cross-border payment lifecycle
  • STP optimisation principles
  • Regulatory data requirements impacting payments
  • Payment validation and repair processes

Technical Skills

• ISO 20022 and JSON schema interpretation
• Data validation rule definition
• Understanding of transaction monitoring data requirements
• Familiarity with message validation and market practice tools

Core Competencies

• Strong analytical and data-quality mindset
• Deep understanding of payment processing mechanics
• Ability to balance regulatory compliance with operational efficiency
• Attention to detail in structured data requirements
• Clear documentation and stakeholder communication skills
• Team player

What we offer

We give you the freedom to be yourself. We are creating an environment of unique individuals – like you – with different perspectives on the financial industry and the world. A diverse and inclusive environment in which everyone’s voice counts and where you can reach your full potential.

We are committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation related to accessibility during your application or interview, please contact accessibility-Sysgroup@swift.com or indicate this in your application.

Please note that this mailbox is not monitored for general recruitment enquiries and should only be used for accessibility or accommodation-related requests (for example related to vision, hearing or neurodiversity).

All requests are confidential and will not affect your candidacy.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Swift, we are dedicated to building a workplace where people can bring their full selves and ideas to the team, so if you are excited about this role, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every single qualification.