What is Aquila?
Aquila is the ISO 20022 native financial messaging, payments and reconciliation platform built by Aqua Global. It sits between a bank’s core banking platform and the payment networks, giving operations teams a single place to control the flow of messages across SWIFT and local clearing. Because it works alongside the existing core rather than replacing it, banks gain native ISO 20022 processing and automated reconciliation without a disruptive core migration.
What solutions does Aqua Global provide?
Aqua Global delivers a robust suite of financial messaging and transaction automation solutions across payments, treasury and securities processing, integrating a bank’s internal systems with the external services and networks around them. It is delivered through Aquila, a modular platform that brings straight through processing, incident management, reconciliation, matching and reporting together on a single shared database, with a messaging hub at its heart controlling all inward and outward Swift and ISO 20022 traffic. Because every module is built to the same standard, a bank can start with the area of greatest need and extend into the others as it grows, which helps it simplify complexity, enhance compliance, reduce operational risk and accelerate change.
Does Aqua Global replace our core banking system?
No, Aquila works alongside your existing core banking system rather than replacing it. It sits as a messaging and reconciliation layer between the core and the payment networks, which means a bank can adopt native ISO 20022 processing and automation without the cost, risk and timeline of a full core replacement. This decoupled approach is one of the main reasons banks choose Aqua Global, particularly those that do not control their own choice of core.
Which core banking systems does Aquila work with?
Aquila integrates with any core banking platform through the core’s own interfaces, and integration is proven in live environments with systems such as Finastra Equation and Essence, Oracle Flexcube, Temenos T24, Olympic, ICBS and in house developed core systems. Because the integration happens at the messaging layer, there is no need to modify or upgrade the underlying core in order to add ISO 20022 processing, payments automation or reconciliation. This makes Aquila a practical fit for banks running legacy cores that would otherwise be expensive or slow to change.
What deployment options does Aquila support?
Aquila can be deployed in the cloud, on premises, or as a hybrid of the two, so a bank can choose the model that suits its security and infrastructure requirements. The platform is built for cloud environments including Azure and AWS while still supporting institutions that need to keep processing within their own data centres. Whichever option a bank selects, the same modular suite and round the clock processing apply.
Can Aqua Global help with ISO 20022 migration?
Yes, supporting banks through ISO 20022 migration is one of Aqua Global’s core specialisms. Aquila can consume and produce both ISO 20022 (MX) and the older SWIFT MT (FIN) formats, so a bank can run the two in parallel during the coexistence period and move to full native processing at its own pace. Having already helped many banks meet earlier deadlines, Aqua Global understands in detail what full adoption requires rather than treating it as a one off translation exercise.
How does Aqua Global help banks meet the ISO 20022 structured address deadline?
The removal of unstructured postal addresses has been deferred, and Swift has not yet confirmed a new date, with timing expected to form part of the Standards Release 2027 scope. The requirement itself has not been withdrawn, and structured and hybrid addresses already flow across the Swift network today, so a bank can begin remediation now rather than waiting for a date to be set. Aquila validates and structures address information as messages pass through the hub, which helps banks stay compliant without reworking their core systems. That gives operations teams a route to readiness even where the underlying data is still held in older formats.
What is the difference between native ISO 20022 processing and a translation tool?
A translation tool converts messages between the older MT format and ISO 20022 MX at the edge, which meets a deadline but leaves the richer ISO 20022 data underused. Native processing means the platform understands and works with ISO 20022 messages in full, unlocking the improved data quality, screening and straight through processing that the standard was designed to deliver. Aquila offers both a native MX messaging hub and a transformation option, so a bank can begin with translation and progress to full native adoption when it is ready.
Which banks does Aqua Global work with?
Aqua Global works with banks in 23 countries, ranging from UK foreign banks to large tier 1 banks. Its customer base includes internationally recognised names such as Banco do Brasil, ING, Nomura and Citadele, reflecting a track record in high volume, mission critical transaction processing.
How long has Aqua Global been in business?
Aqua Global was founded in 1983 and has spent more than four decades focused on financial messaging and transaction processing for banks. That long history means the team has worked through successive generations of Swift standards and regulatory change, which is a significant advantage when guiding banks through programmes such as ISO 20022. Banks also tend to stay once they are live, with 18 of our customers now with Aqua Global for more than a decade, 8 of them for more than two decades and one tier 1 bank for more than three decades.
Where is Aqua Global based?
Aqua Global is headquartered in London, at 84 Stafford Road, Wallington, and also operates a support and development hub in Poland. This gives the company a UK base close to its foreign bank branch customers alongside a wider European delivery capability. It also works with a network of global business partners to support customers in other regions.
Does Aqua Global offer round the clock support?
Yes, Aqua Global provides 24/7 processing and support, reflecting the reality that payment and messaging operations never truly stop. Banks running Aquila can rely on continuous processing and access to support whenever it is needed, including well outside standard office hours. Because Aquila is built and supported by our own team, you deal directly with the people who built the platform rather than working through the layers of a large vendor’s support organisation.
How can I book a demo?
You can book a demo of any Aquila solution by emailing info@aqua-global-solutions.com, completing the demo request form on this site, or calling +44 (0)20 8544 3200. A member of the team will arrange a session tailored to the areas most relevant to your bank, whether that is payments, reconciliations or ISO 20022. Demonstrations are usually arranged quickly and shaped around your own use cases.
Does Aquila automate reconciliation and matching?
Yes. Aquila reconciles across Swift securities and cash, internal formats, card, point of sale, ATM and bespoke sources in real time, covering account reconciliations, securities positional and transactional matching, and treasury and securities message matching on one shared database. It analyses unmatched items and proposes likely pairs, each with a confidence score and the shared reference text highlighted, so an analyst can see why a match was suggested before accepting it, dismissing it, or turning it into a reusable rule. The scoring engine is deterministic and runs entirely within your own environment, so no reconciliation data leaves the bank and every suggestion can be audited.
How does Aquila help banks meet the Swift Case Management mandate?
Swift is moving exceptions and investigations onto Case Management, with banks required to receive camt.110 investigation requests from 12 June 2027 and the full mandate to send and receive camt.110 and camt.111 through Case Management following in November 2027. Aquila automates camt.110 and camt.111 handling and routes cases through Swift’s Case Orchestrator, with in flow translation for institutions not yet on Case Management, so a bank can meet the receive milestone without rebuilding its investigation workflow. Because it sits alongside the existing core, this capability can be added without a core change.
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