ABSTRACT
SWIFT is among a select few organizations that established the core operational foundations for international trade, increasing interaction across boundaries and contributing to our experience of a global world. This has made it subject to both external pressures from groups conscious of the privileged access that it offers and internal calls from its own membership to continuously improve its performance. Understanding its organizational response to current and future demands necessitates understanding its past. The purpose of this chapter is to take a historical perspective on the development of SWIFT. This helps establish a context for better understanding its defi ning characteristics: the choice of a cooperative legal form, reinforced by a set of rules and responsibilities that support the position of SWIFT as it negotiates programmes of action (such as standards development) among organizations engaged in fi nancial activities.
