Bridging Global Payments: FATF 16, BIC, and LEI – A Unified Vision for Transparency

Cross-border payments are entering a new era, shaped by real-time rails, digital assets, and the global shift to ISO 20022. At the same time, compliance standards such as FATF Recommendation 16 are raising expectations for transparency and trust across payment networks.In this episode of Trust Talks, Shriyanka Hore, Global Head of Industry Engagement and Managing Director at Swift Corporate Office, joins Alexandre Kech to unpack how the BIC and LEI work together to balance compliance with innovation. The conversation explores why FATF 16 is so critical for transparency, how global identifiers can strengthen identity and routing integrity, and what practical steps financial institutions and digital asset platforms can take to integrate them into AML and ISO 20022 frameworks.Looking ahead, they consider the role of interoperability, the promise of verifiable credentials such as the vLEI, and how digital identity will shape the future of payments.