SWIFT removes support for telex, fax and testkey

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) was founded back in 1973 with the objective of developing a modern communications system as an alternative to telex which had been used for financial transactions up to this time. As of today this objective has been achieved to a high degree and in consequence SWIFT is removing telex, testkey and fax functionality in the latest version 7.0 of SWIFT Alliance Access and Entry (SAA) which will be available at the end of 2010.

However, not all financial institutions are in the position to completely abandon telex and fax communication, and testkey security for financial message transfer. In particular in Africa and some Asian countries trading partners not reachable by SWIFT still rely on telex communication and testkey is also used to secure messages sent in other formats such as faxes. So what is the best thing to do if you still need telex, fax or testkey, but your SWIFT Alliance solution no longer supports these features?

Intercope has been providing telex, fax and testkey solutions for the financial industry for more than 25 years, and also developed the shortly to be discontinued telex, fax and testkey functions of SWIFT Alliance. The current versions of INTERCOPE’s “TelexPlus/Open” and “TestPlus/Open” are modern solutions supporting all telex and testkey requirement for the financial industry and in addition „MessagePlus/Open“ also provides these features and comprehensive fax functionality. “INTERCOPE is fully committed to preserving the telex, fax and testkey investments of each SAA user and to providing the most cost effective way to ensure business continuity in those areas where traffic, whilst lighter in volume, retains a strategic importance” states Reinhart Laumer, President and CEO of INTERCOPE GmbH.