SWIFT Launches eBAM

SWIFT has gone live with an electronic bank account management (eBAM) offering. EBAM combines the use of ISO 20022 XML compliant standards with SWIFT’s messaging platform, allowing banks and corporates to streamline the process of bank account management.

The offering focuses on four key areas: account opening, closing, maintenance and reporting.

Bank account management – including mandate management – is currently a paper-based process between banks and corporates. Moving this activity to EBAM will lead to significant cost and time saving, and ensure there is a consistent view on the account structure by both parties.

eBAM goes live following a successful pilot phase, involving the participation of three corporate customers, three banks and three software vendors. The platform will now be made available to all potential customers.

“eBAM’s standardised messaging will help us to improve our account management processes with our banks. It will save costs and effort, by eliminating large parts of the paper flow between ourselves and the banks. This is a tremendous benefit for companies with global treasury operations,” said Carola Van Limborgh, cash management architect, Shell.

“By automating account management processes, eBAM allows us to respond more quickly to our customers’ requirements and to reduce the risk of human errors,” said Loretta Gannon, TS Product Management, TS Development Manager, Innovation, BNY Mellon Treasury Services. “This enables us to give corporate customers the assurance that we share the same view and understanding of their accounts.”