For more than a decade, Microsoft has used SWIFT to connect internal systems with external financial institutions. As other processes became increasingly automated over the years, the SWIFT connectivity became vital to the company's operations.

Today, the Microsoft treasury group manages 1,300 accounts in 85 banks around the world. "We send about $300 billion a year in payments through SWIFT, and we receive status messages in return," explains Lisa Wagner, group manager for cash operations within Microsoft treasury. "Our accounts payable [A/P] and supply-chain payments move an additional $60 billion to $100 billion through SWIFT every year. On top of that, treasury also gets electronic bank statements on a daily basis, and the statements are large—an individual statement may include thousands of transactions."