The Swift blockchain ledger has hit a major milestone, with the organization saying its blockchain-based ledger is ready for initial deployment. The new infrastructure will enable early participating financial institutions to offer tokenized cross-border payments 24/7. Therefore, the development marks a significant step forward in the development of regulated digital finance.
In the first instance, 17 banks from six continents will participate in live pilot transactions. Their involvement is a sign of growing confidence in the Swift blockchain ledger and its ability to deliver secure, flexible and always-on money transfer. In addition, the initiative is a case in point of the rising demand for tokenised financial services in global markets.
The new shared ledger provides a secure orchestration layer.
It allows banks to process tokenised deposits issued on their own ledgers. Participating institutions can therefore process customer transactions on weekends, holidays and overnight. Final settlement will continue to be carried out through existing payment systems to ensure operational continuity.
The approach also allows banks to improve the customer experience without having to change existing compliance processes. Existing controls for credit, operational risk and regulatory requirements are also retained by financial institutions. So, they can provide digital payment options, while still adhering to the standards of trusted banking.
The idea of the blockchain ledger was first proposed by Swift last year. Since then, the organization has been working closely with international financial institutions to refine the technology. Importantly, Swift was able to transition from design and development to completion within nine months, with industry feedback incorporated throughout the project.
This is the first production use case for Swift’s distributed ledger capabilities, the blockchain ledger. It also opens the door to greater interoperability across regulated financial infrastructure. Swift’s global network currently supports financial messaging in over 200 markets. Thus, the organization wants to extend that trusted infrastructure to digital value transfers.
Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer at Swift said that the new capability brings the stability and trust of established financial systems into digital money ecosystems.The ledger allows tokenised value to travel across borders more quickly and flexibly It also continues to deliver the high standards of security, resilience and compliance required across global finance.
The strong interest from the leading banks shows the practical value of the blockchain ledger. Besides, the organization sees the platform as a way to speed up innovations in areas like programmable money and agentic commerce. As adoption increases, interoperable digital payment infrastructure could benefit additional financial institutions.
Swift bolsters digital payments infrastructure
Following the launch phase, Swift intends to extend the scope and availability of the blockchain ledger. At first, though, the organization will introduce the platform carefully and in a controlled manner. “This approach will help ensure reliability and at the same time gather operational insights from participating institutions.
Meanwhile, Swift continues to beef up its existing payment network. Today, around 75 per cent of payments are credited to beneficiary banks within 10 minutes. Often, transactions are completed in seconds. Because of this, the institution is still working toward the international payment goals of the G20.
Swift is also working with the banking community to develop a retail payments framework to improve transparency and consistency. The framework will give consumers upfront visibility of fees, full delivery of value and faster payment experiences. These enhancements, together with the blockchain ledger, will underpin the future movement of regulated digital value across global financial markets.”
Lisa Vasic, Managing Director Transaction Banking, ANZ, said: “Swift’s digital ledger initiative is an important step in advancing real-time, always-on cross-border payment capabilities. By combining Swift’s trusted network with this new infrastructure, we see strong potential to help customers move funds in real-time and manage liquidity more flexibly. Building on our deep experience in digital assets, ANZ is committed to working with Swift and global partners to securely scale next-generation payments infrastructure and deliver more efficient, always-on payments capabilities.”
Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, Payments, Trade Solutions and Factoring for the BNP Paribas Group, said: “We are proud to be among the first banks to pilot Swift’s blockchain-based ledger – a significant milestone in the evolution of cross-border payments. This achievement reflects BNP Paribas’ ongoing collaboration with Swift to shape the next phases of the ledger’s development. By supporting this initiative, we reaffirm our commitment to industrialising digital finance at scale. Our goal is clear: to deliver measurable value to corporate clients through faster, more transparent, and more secure transactions.”
Carl Slabicki, Head of Commercial, Global Payments & Trade at BNY, said: “We are pleased to continue collaborating with Swift on the use of shared ledger technology to support greater interoperability in cross-border payments. This work is an important step in understanding how these capabilities may evolve over time in a way that complements existing infrastructure and meets the needs of clients globally.”
Debopama Sen, Head of Payments, Services, Citi, said: “The launch of Swift’s blockchain-based ledger represents an important step towards enabling always-on payments and liquidity. Collaborating on this initiative reinforces Citi’s commitment to our clients for making cross-border money movement seamless and instant. Leveraging Swift’s innovative blockchain based messaging infrastructure allows us to create interoperable payment solutions, powered by Citi’s network, enhances our ability to serve our global clients with greater speed, resilience and security.”
Lim Soon Chong, Group Head of Global Transaction Services (GTS) at DBS, said: “Blockchain-based ledgers and tokenised money enable banks to deliver greater speed, transparency and real-time liquidity to better support client needs. Interoperability with existing payment rails and application in real world use cases will be critical for these capabilities to scale. By leveraging Swift’s extensive network with DBS’ track record in tokenised deposits and cross-border payments, we can contribute meaningfully as one of the pioneer banks on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger – underscoring our commitment towards shaping a resilient and future-ready global banking system.”
Manish Kohli, Head of Global Payments Solutions at HSBC, said: “At HSBC, we are leading the charge in scaling tokenised deposits across multiple markets worldwide. We are pleased to be one of the first banks to connect our Tokenised Deposit Service to Swift’s new blockchain-based ledger infrastructure, building on our existing 24/7, compliant tokenised deposits capabilities. This is an important milestone in the evolution of cross border payments and a positive step towards making them work the way our clients’ businesses operate today – in real time, across time zones, and without artificial cut-offs. By using tokenised deposits on a regulated, bank-issued basis and connecting them through Swift’s trusted global network, we can improve liquidity efficiency, strengthen cash-flow visibility, and deliver a more seamless 24/7 experience for corporates.”
Kim Verhaaf, Managing Director for Payments at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “This marks progress in the development of on-chain ecosystems. As an early participant, we have supported the development of Swift’s blockchain-based ledger, reflecting the value of industry collaboration in advancing digital finance.”
Joel Van Dusen, Group Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at Mashreq, said: “Mashreq is committed to shaping the future of financial services through innovation in digital banking. By collaborating with Swift to utilise next generation ledger technologies, we will enable faster settlement and enhance the security of transaction processing for our clients.”
Masahiro Matsumoto, Senior Fellow, Global Head of Transaction Banking at MUFG Bank, said: “MUFG Bank is proud to join Swift and global industry partners in advancing the exploration of next-generation financial market infrastructure. We see strong potential for tokenized deposits and distributed ledger technology to contribute to more efficient and transparent cross-border payments and liquidity management over time. Through our participation in this initiative, we are focusing on piloting and evaluating practical use cases, while carefully considering how these innovations can be integrated into existing financial ecosystems in a safe, scalable, and client-centric manner.”
Mr Melvyn Low, Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at OCBC, said: “OCBC has been building our blockchain and tokenisation capabilities as part of a broader focus on strengthening our AI, Digital and Data expertise. We look forward to working with Swift and the partner banks to enable real-time, 24/7 cross-border tokenised transactions leveraging the Swift ledger, to better serve the payment needs of our customers.”
Mahesh Kini, Global Head of Cash Management at Standard Chartered, said: “We are redefining cross-border payments with Swift’s new blockchain-based ledger – combining tokenised deposits with our global network to deliver instant, always-on money movement. This will position our FI and Corporate clients at the forefront of payments innovation – unlocking real-time visibility, enhanced liquidity control, and the speed needed to stay ahead in managing capital globally.”
Mr. Andreas Kubli, Managing Director, Group Head of Digital Assets at UBS, said: “We see interoperability as the key enabler for scaling tokenised deposits beyond individual institutions. Swift’s ledger is an important industry initiative that can help connect digital money networks, supporting real-time settlement, greater liquidity mobility and the broader adoption of tokenised payments and digital assets across the global financial ecosystem.”
So Lay Hua, Head of Group Transaction Banking at UOB, said: “Swift’s blockchain-based ledger has moved from concept to live infrastructure, marking an important step towards practical adoption of new payment capabilities. For businesses, real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments can improve settlement speed, liquidity efficiency and cash flow visibility. UOB is among the first banks in this industry collaboration, bringing our regional network and transaction banking expertise to support secure, scalable and interoperable solutions that help businesses move value with greater confidence across borders.”
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News Source: Businesswire.com
