Visible on the Tracker: a gpi payment held for a check
Trigger: Nordbank places an inbound gpi payment on a compliance hold for a possible name match before crediting the beneficiary.
What operations sees first: Unlike an opaque legacy correspondent chain, the originator sees the payment's status change to on-hold/pending on the gpi Tracker in real time.
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
Held at Nordbank during the review, then credited to the beneficiary once cleared.
DID SETTLEMENT HAPPEN?
Interbank settlement across the correspondent relationships stands; only the final credit waited for the review.
WHO ACTS NEXT?
Nordbank (beneficiary bank) The originator tracks the UETR to confirmation of credit; a true match would be escalated per the bank's sanctions procedures.
PLAY THE EXCEPTION
Trigger: Nordbank's inbound sanctions screening flags a possible name match against a party in the payment and the payment is placed on a compliance hold pending review.
Bank Alfa sends the MT103 carrying a UETR
Bank Alfa (originator bank) → Meridian Bank (correspondent) · MT103
Asha Traders, a customer of Bank Alfa, is paying a supplier banked at Nordbank. Bank Alfa generates a UETR — a 36-character unique end-to-end transaction reference — embeds it in the MT103, and sends the instruction to its USD correspondent, Meridian Bank, which holds Bank Alfa's nostro account.
Step 1 of 9: Bank Alfa sends the MT103 carrying a UETR
- 03SettlementCover moves across the nostro relationshipBank Alfa (originator bank) → Meridian Bank (correspondent)
- 05 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessingNordbank's control detects a possible matchNordbank (beneficiary bank)
- 07 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessingReview clears the paymentNordbank (beneficiary bank)
- 08 · EXCEPTION PATHPostingNordbank credits the supplierNordbank (beneficiary bank)
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- Delivered to the supplier once the review cleared; settlement between banks was unaffected by the hold.
- Settlement
- Interbank settlement stood; only the final credit waited on the compliance review.
- Who acts next
- Nordbank (beneficiary bank) — Bank Alfa reassures Asha Traders using the live Tracker status while Nordbank completes its review and releases the payment.
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
- 03SettlementCover moves across the nostro relationshipBank Alfa (originator bank) → Meridian Bank (correspondent)
gpi adds tracking on top of correspondent banking; it does not change how money moves. Meridian debits the USD nostro account Bank Alfa holds with it, providing cover for the onward payment in commercial bank money.
No clearing house is involved — the correspondent's ledger is the settlement venue, in commercial bank money rather than central bank money.
- DR Bank Alfa's USD nostro account at Meridian — USD 40,000.00
- 05 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessingNordbank's control detects a possible matchNordbank (beneficiary bank)
Nordbank screens the ordering and beneficiary parties and the remittance text on the way in. A name resembles an entry on a watchlist, so the control holds the payment for a human to review rather than crediting straight away.
Screening checkpoint: Inbound sanctions screening — Parties, banks, and free-text fields are checked against watchlists; a possible match parks the payment for review before any credit.
- 07 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessingReview clears the paymentNordbank (beneficiary bank)
A reviewer confirms the flag was a false match against the sanctioned entity, records the decision, and releases the payment so it can complete normally.
- 08 · EXCEPTION PATHPostingNordbank credits the supplierNordbank (beneficiary bank)
With the hold lifted, Nordbank books the credit to the supplier's account, the same posting that would have happened without the review.
- CR Supplier's account at Nordbank — USD 40,000.00
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- Delivered to the supplier once the review cleared; settlement between banks was unaffected by the hold.
- Settlement
- Interbank settlement stood; only the final credit waited on the compliance review.
- Who acts next
- Nordbank (beneficiary bank) — Bank Alfa reassures Asha Traders using the live Tracker status while Nordbank completes its review and releases the payment.
THE TIMELINE
- 01Bank Alfa (originator bank)Sends the MT103 carrying its UETR through correspondent Meridian Bank and updates the gpi Tracker.MT103
- 02Meridian Bank (correspondent)Forwards the MT103 (same UETR) to Nordbank and updates the Tracker with its status.MT103
- 03Nordbank (beneficiary bank)Detects a possible sanctions-list match and holds the payment for investigation, posting an on-hold status to the Tracker.
A defensive control: the receiving bank screens independently and holds a possible match for review before crediting.
- 04NordbankA compliance analyst reviews and clears the match as a false positive, credits the beneficiary, and confirms credit on the Tracker.
Resolution: Because every gpi payment carries a UETR that keys the cloud Tracker, the originator can see exactly where the payment is — on hold, then cleared and credited. gpi adds transparency; it does not change the underlying correspondent settlement.
Sources for this scenario2
- Official requirement
Swift gpi (global payments innovation) ↗ — Swift · Tracker / UETR
Only public summaries are used here; the full service definition and rulebook sit behind a swift.com account.
- Simplified educational illustration
Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal
What this simplifies: Single-cycle teaching model; participant-specific handling and exact timings vary.
Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.