The Covid-19 pandemic has put paid to Swift's physical international banking conference Sibos for the second year in a row, consigning the event to a digital-only format.
A fixture in the calendar since 1978, Sibos in 2019 attracted a record 11,500 delegates and more than 300 exhibitors to London in pre-pandemic times.
In a statement, the interbank payments utility, says: "The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the way people live and work, and while progress is being made toward recovery, much uncertainty remains about the outlook for the virus and the evolution of mobility and travel restrictions this year.
"In light of this, and after consulting widely with our customers and partners, Swift has taken a decision to keep Sibos a free, digital-only event for 2021 to ensure the safest and best possible experience for the global Sibos community."
As with Boston last year, the digital conference will take place during the scheduled Sibos week of 11-14 October.
The last time Swift was forced to cancel the globe-hopping event was back in 2001 owing to security fears following the World Trade Centre terrorist attacks. On that occasion, the conference was ditched with just a week's notice. The timing of that announcement - and Swift’s prevarications in the preceding period - angered many and proved extremely costly for the vendor community whish supports the show, which may explain the abundance of caution shown this time round.
The banking co-operative says it expects a return to normality for Sibos 2022, which will take place in Amsterdam from 10-13 October 2022.