BDO puts international and domestic payment processing on one platform
The Philippine bank is using Finastra software for Swift payment messages and incoming PESONet transfers, bringing two processing flows together.
BDO Unibank is using one Finastra platform to process Swift payment messages and incoming Philippine transfers through PESONet. Finastra announced the bank’s use of its Global PAYplus software on 7 October.
Swift is the messaging network banks use to exchange international payment instructions. PESONet handles batches of electronic transfers between accounts at participating Philippine financial institutions. BDO currently uses the platform for Swift processing and incoming PESONet payments, according to Finastra.
Swift’s explanation of an international payment separates the bank-to-bank message from the receiving bank’s work to process the payment and credit the customer. The Philippine central bank’s PESONet guidance describes instructions being processed in bulk at clearing intervals. Both therefore involve receiving institutions handling instructions before money reaches an account, helping explain why BDO’s processing infrastructure matters to the businesses and partners relying on those flows.
Two payment flows on one system
The deployment brings processing for high-value payments and larger batches of payments onto the same system. For BDO’s operations teams, that means a common platform for the two named flows supporting the bank’s retail, business and institutional customers, as well as payment distribution for correspondent banks and fintech partners.
Finastra says the implementation adds automation and flexible rules for handling payments. BDO’s head of Cash Management Services, Carlo B. Nazareno, said the architecture strengthens the bank’s ability to handle growing transaction volumes, improve operating efficiency and adapt to market requirements. The release gives no measured settlement-time improvement or quantified savings.
Finastra payments chief product officer Radha Suvarna said combining high-value and mass-payments processing reduces complexity for a bank serving multiple clearing systems and corporate client requirements. Connections to additional domestic and cross-border networks remain a future capability.
BDO reports more than 2,000 consolidated operating branches and over 7,900 teller machines nationwide, alongside 13 international offices, including full-service branches in Hong Kong and Singapore. Its payment-distribution business serves correspondent banks and fintech partners bringing funds into the Philippine market.
Source: Finastra’s 7 October 2026 announcement distributed by PR Newswire; Swift’s explanation of its messaging network; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas guidance on PESONet.
