Former Managing Director At Deutsche Bank Joins SWIFT 

Former Managing Director At Deutsche Bank Joins SWIFT

David Watson, the former managing director and head of cash management for Deutsche Bank in the Americas, as well as the head of global digital cash products, has joined SWIFT as the new strategic relationship director in North America, according to a release.

Watson will be in charge of SWIFT’s strategic direction as well as the organization’s growth in North America. His job will include fostering existing relationships that are essential to those directives and improving the organization’s commercial performance through its products, like SWIFT’s global payments innovation (gpi) and its suite of financial crime compliance solutions.

“David brings with him a wealth of industry expertise, having held senior roles in operations, product management and product development, including cash, trade finance and securities services,” said David Scola, SWIFT acting chief executive for the Americas and U.K. “We are delighted to welcome him on board to help drive our regional strategy and support our vision of delivering a fast and frictionless cross-border payment experience for the global financial industry.”

Watson has been associated with SWIFT for a number of years, and he’s served on the organization’s Corporate Advisory Group since 2011. He has also been a member of TCH’s Company Board since 2017. Watson started his position in New York on Monday (Sept. 9).

SWIFT recently revealed a new API standard for the pre-authorization of funds, clearing a path for a revolution in financial services enabled by open banking. API standards accelerate the introduction of new services. With this latest standard, a payer’s bank can designate funds in advance, assuring upcoming payments will clear.

“SWIFT is uniquely positioned to tackle the problem of fragmentation in standards globally, and we are pleased to expand our current role to include the global standardization of open banking APIs,” said Stephen Lindsay, head of standards at SWIFT. “Our work on the pre-authorization of funds API is another example of the central part we are playing in ensuring the industry can make the most of the new open banking landscape.”