Birchford Technologies, a leading provider of payment system modernization and SWIFT integration solutions in the Middle East and North Africa, announced the launch of its new platform, ProLink AI Translator—a major step forward in developing the region’s digital payment infrastructure.
The platform leverages an advanced artificial intelligence model from SWIFT for postal address processing, combined with Birchford’s proprietary reference data engine, making it the first of its kind in the MENA region.
The launch aligns with Birchford Technologies’ strategic vision to help financial institutions prepare for the removal of fully unstructured postal addresses from cross-border ISO 20022 payment messages from 14 November 2026, when only fully structured or hybrid postal-address formats will be accepted under the Swift community requirements.
ProLink AI Translator integrates SWIFT’s natural language processing (NLP) model to convert unstructured addresses into structured data compliant with ISO 20022. Birchford has enhanced this model with an advanced reference intelligence layer, creating a solution capable of structuring creditor and debtor addresses in pacs.008 and pacs.009 payment messages, reducing message rejection rates caused by unstructured data, cleansing legacy databases and corporate payment files, and operating entirely within the bank’s environment—without external connectivity—to strengthen security and privacy, increase straight through processing (STP) rates, and minimize manual intervention.
The platform directly supports the Central Bank of Egypt’s national initiative to adopt ISO 20022, offering banks a practical path to compliance without costly core system changes. It accelerates adoption across the banking sector, enhances financial inclusion through improved payment data quality, supports the development of the RTGS system based on ISO 20022, and improves interoperability with regional and global payment networks.
In addition, the platform provides advanced integration with e commerce platforms, payment gateways, digital collection systems, and corporate payment centers, marking a major leap in digital payment management. This integration helps reduce cross border payment issues, improves fraud detection accuracy, enhances AML/KYC compliance data quality, and supports the growth of digital trade in Egypt and the Gulf amid the region’s expanding digital economy.
The launch of ProLink AI Translator is in collaboration with leading regional banks, including, Suez Canal Bank (SCB), Housing and Development Bank (HDB), and Al Khaliji France Dubai, reflecting the growing demand for intelligent compliance solutions that facilitate the shift to structured data across the regional banking sector.
Islam Aziz, Professional Services Manager at Birchford Technologies, stated:
“The launch of ProLink AI Translator marks a strategic milestone in modernizing the region’s payment infrastructure. We leverage AI technologies to deliver practical solutions that help financial institutions achieve ISO 20022 compliance more efficiently and cost effectively, while improving data quality and operational performance within banking systems. The platform enables banks to overcome the challenges of unstructured addresses by transforming them into instantly usable data within fully secure environments.”
Aziz emphasized that the platform will support payment system development efforts across the GCC and MENA regions, including networks such as UAE FTS, UAE -UH ,PAPSS, and SWIFTNet, enabling banks to meet global standards while maintaining and advancing local infrastructure efficiency.
He explained that the platform integrates seamlessly with the existing ProLink ecosystem, which includes SWIFT GPI tracking, automatic global confirmations, multi network payment automation, real time dashboards for transactions and settlements, a Maker/Checker workflow, and comprehensive integration with enterprise and banking systems—making ProLink one of the most advanced payment platforms in the region.
With this launch, Birchford Technologies reaffirms its leadership in SWIFT modernization and ISO 20022 migration, delivering AI powered solutions that automate compliance and enhance operational efficiency within financial institutions— paving the way for a new era of digital payment innovation and readiness for next generation global standards across Egypt and the
wider region.