What is swift technology and how did it play a role in PNB scam?

Day by day new things are coming out in the over Rs 11,000-crore Punjab National Bank scam and a majority of people are curious to know that which technology enabled the money transfer in this scam.

SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunications. It is a secured messaging system that is used by banks officials all the world over to securely transmit information and instructions in a protected format by using a system of codes over a secure channel.

However, this messaging system does not hold money and track any record of the client accounts. In PNB scam, PNB officials allegedly used this technology and issued fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) to overseas branch of Indian banks through Swift on behalf of Nirav Modi.

Swift technology is a type of software development that uses natural language scripting and a programming language called Swift. It offers computerized communication with an electronic device or external computer.

This technology played an important role in the PNB scam by providing customers with the unprecedented ability to make bank withdrawals in real time via its internet banking system-a process that only took three seconds for each transaction. This narrow timeframe allowed for a secure, safe transaction that would have never been possible before swift technology was introduced into developing countries like India, Pakistan and Nigeria where such transactions are vital to everyday life.