Swift has launched an initial live pilot of its blockchain-based shared ledger, involving 17 banks across six continents testing cross-border payments using tokenized deposits. This move marks the first production-ready application of Swift’s blockchain ledger following a nine-month development phase with global financial institutions.
The participating banks include DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, MUFG Bank, HSBC, UBS, BNY, Citi, and Wells Fargo. Thierry Chilosi, Swift’s chief business officer, stated, “With our new ledger capability, we’re extending the trust and stability of established finance into the frontiers of digital money.”
Chilosi added that the new system allows tokenized value to move across borders quickly and flexibly, while adhering to the resiliency, security, and compliance standards required in global finance.
Swift’s ledger operates alongside existing payment infrastructures. It enables banks to move tokenized deposits, which are digital versions of commercial bank money issued by regulated institutions, outside of normal banking hours, including overnight and on weekends. However, final settlements continue to utilize existing payment rails.
This system aims to improve liquidity management and customer experience for cross-border corporate flows. Swift emphasized that its ledger maintains compliance and control frameworks already established by banks, distinguishing it from stablecoin alternatives that some institutions have viewed with caution.
Currently, 75% of payments on Swift’s existing network reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, often within seconds. The ledger adds continuous availability for tokenized value on top of this existing speed, without disrupting the settlement chain relied upon by correspondent banks and regulators.
Swift’s initiative comes amid growing competition from various entities developing infrastructure for faster, 24/7 cross-border payments. While stablecoin issuers have touted their round-the-clock capabilities as a competitive edge over traditional wire transfers, Swift argues that bank-issued tokenized deposits provide a compliance-ready alternative within existing regulatory frameworks.
The broader narrative of institutional tokenization continues to evolve. Central banks are investigating wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), commercial banks are testing tokenized bonds and syndicated loans, and infrastructure providers are creating settlement layers necessary for trading tokenized assets at scale. Swift’s ledger is designed to act as a connective layer, integrating with multiple blockchain networks rather than committing to a single distributed ledger.
This pilot represents the initial use of the technology and does not signify a full production deployment. Swift has yet to announce a timeline for expanding beyond the current group of 17 banks or for general availability. The upcoming institutional demand and transaction volume will be crucial indicators for the potential broader rollout of the system.
