The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a Belgian cooperative society providing services related to the execution of financial transactions and payments between banks worldwide. Founded in 1973, its primary function is to serve as a secure and reliable network for financial institutions to send and receive standardized information, known as SWIFT messages. It does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, but its messaging system is the critical infrastructure that enables trillions of dollars in cross-border payments every day, ensuring fast, accurate, and secure international communication for its member institutions.