A new payments era demands new levels of control
Payment volumes are rising, rails are multiplying, and ISO 20022 is redefining the structure of financial messages. Every payment now carries more data, more expectations, and more operational pressure – and with the rise of instant payments, controls that were once performed hours later must now happen within seconds.
Yet exceptions are becoming harder to manage, not easier. Mis-routes, format discrepancies, counterparty mismatches, and routing failures require instant detection, prioritisation, and resolution. Institutions need not more effort, but more clarity, more structure, and more control across every payment path.
Introducing Smart Payments
Smart Payments is Smartstream’s unified, ISO 20022 native platform for payment exception management and investigations. Built on Smartstream’s long-standing leadership in payment control, it delivers a modern, harmonised, exception-ready environment across all major payment systems – SWIFT, RTGS, instant, and domestic rails – within a single integrated application.
The platform turns payment investigations into a predictable, auditable, and efficient process, structured to reduce investigation times by up to 75-80% for non-complex cases and cut average resolution costs by up to 70%.
Structured workflows and ISO 20022 orchestration
Smart Payments replaces free-text uncertainty with structured, ISO 20022 native workflows. Every investigation follows a defined format with clear fields, types, and relationships – ensuring consistency across rails, counterparties, and regions. Pre-configured rulebooks aligned to SWIFT GPI, SEPA, TARGET, and other payment system standards are built in as standard, accelerating time to value.
Automated case handling covers acknowledgements, reminders, and escalations – keeping cases moving without manual chasers and ensuring SLA adherence across the full exception lifecycle.
Real-time visibility and intelligent automation
Every exception carries a single persistent tracking reference and complete audit history, giving operations teams real-time insight into progress, delays, responsibilities, and outcomes. Intelligent automation interprets query message codes, classifies exception types, and suggests or executes the appropriate workflow – from auto-acknowledgement through to downstream payment processing, subject to configurable approval controls.
SWIFT case management connectivity supports seamless internal and external investigations, while Swift GPI connectivity provides live payment status tracking at every stage.
Transformational use cases across all rails
Smart Payments addresses the full range of payment investigation scenarios: non-receipt cases, unable-to-apply and reconciliation breaks, cancellation and modification requests, and domestic RTGS and instant payment investigations across SEPA, TARGET2, TIPS, UAEFTS, Fedwire, CHAPS, and other rails. Root cause analytics empower institutions to correct recurring issues across reference data, correspondents, and payment formats – reducing exceptions at source over time.
Download the brochure
The Smart Payments brochure sets out the full functional scope of the platform – covering ISO 20022 orchestration, exception management workflows, payment rail support, use cases, and deployment options. Download it using the form on this page to review the detail relevant to your operations.
To see Smart Payments in action within your workflows, visit the Smart Payments solution page or register your interest for a tailored demo.
