BNY has launched its Pay-to-Wallet service on September 28, 2026, enabling banks to send cross-border payments directly to participating retail digital wallets using existing SWIFT messages and correspondent banking infrastructure. According to BNY, the service uses the bank's U.S. dollar clearing network, existing correspondent banking arrangements and continuous payment-processing infrastructure. KB Kookmin Bank has been identified as one of the initial Asia-Pacific users of this capability, alongside other selected institutions, with the memorandum of understanding signed during Sibos 2026 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida. The service supports account-to-wallet payments across approved markets and corridors, with potential applications including person-to-person cross-border payments, tax refunds, insurance payouts and pension distributions.
IBM announced on September 24, 2026 that Digital Asset Haven clients can now access permissioned blockchain networks, including Swift's ledger, through a new beta integration. According to reports from IBM, the company has developed a beta ISO 20022 Messaging Adapter that enables participating institutions to instruct tokenized deposit transactions using standard ISO 20022 messages through the shared ledger infrastructure. Digital assets can move around the clock through the ledger before final settlement occurs through existing banking infrastructure, while participating IBM clients continue to use established Swift standards and banks' own compliance processes. As reported by The Block, financial institutions participating in Swift's program have already tested tokenized deposits on the ledger using Digital Asset Haven, demonstrating practical implementation of the new integration. Meanwhile, Chainlink announced on September 28 a new connection framework through its Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) that allows banks to connect their existing systems and signing infrastructure to Swift's blockchain ledger while retaining control of their transaction-signing keys.
KB Kookmin Bank has signed a strategic agreement with BNY covering cross-border digital asset payments and remittances as the South Korean lender expands its international payment services. According to BNY, the first stated use case centers on overseas remittances, including services for foreign residents and international students, with the bank planning to combine its foreign-exchange capabilities with BNY's payment network and Pay-to-Wallet infrastructure. Raphael Baik, head of Kookmin Bank's foreign exchange business division, stated that customers increasingly want payment options that match the way recipients prefer to receive money, with Pay-to-Wallet capability helping broaden access to digital wallet payments in a more efficient way. The service uses established correspondent banking and ISO 20022 messaging infrastructure to reach supported wallets, with BNY planning to begin with selected Asia-Pacific participants before expanding into more markets.
Swift declared its blockchain ledger ready for initial use in July 2025 after nine months of development work involving more than 40 financial institutions. As reported by IBM, 17 banks from six continents have entered Swift's first group preparing live tokenized deposit transactions. Participating banks include ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, DBS, First Abu Dhabi Bank, FirstRand, HSBC, Itaú Unibanco, Lloyds Bank, Mashreq, MUFG, OCBC, Standard Chartered, UBS, UOB and Wells Fargo. The initial use case centers on 24/7 cross-border payments using bank-issued tokenized deposits, with Swift's ledger supporting bank-issued tokenized deposits and allowing digital assets to move 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ahead of final settlement through existing systems. Globally, Swift connects more than 11,500 financial institutions across over 200 markets, providing extensive reach for the new tokenized deposit capabilities. HSBC has specifically announced plans to connect its Tokenised Deposit Service to the shared infrastructure, while Standard Chartered, UBS and UOB have described their participation as work focused on tokenized payments, interoperability and round-the-clock money movement.
Chainlink's Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) introduces a self-signing model where financial institutions retain complete control of their transaction-signing keys while orchestrating workflows that access Swift's shared ledger. As reported by Chainlink, CRE sits between a financial institution's infrastructure and the Swift ledger without taking control of the institution's authorization keys, with Chainlink describing it as the workflow layer responsible for coordinating interactions. This structure allows institutions to preserve existing approval procedures, security controls and operating models while adopting tokenized payment services. Banks can use the connection to manage smart-contract activity across their own tokenized-deposit ledgers and Swift's blockchain infrastructure, with deposits remaining on bank-owned ledgers while Swift coordinates payment commitments between participating institutions before final settlement. Sergey Nazarov, CEO of Chainlink Labs, expressed excitement about supporting the Swift ledger as banks seek technology for tokenized deposits and ledger connectivity, though Chainlink did not provide a timetable for individual bank adoption.
J.P. Morgan Payments reported that 93% of financial institutions are modernizing their payments infrastructure, citing investment in core systems and new payment products among current priorities. According to IBM, the integration relies on ISO 20022, the financial messaging standard Swift completed migrating its cross-border payment network to in November 2025. BNY had $62.6 trillion of assets under custody or administration and $2.2 trillion under management as of June 30, with the New York-based financial institution serving nearly all of the world's top 100 banks. BNY plans to begin Pay-to-Wallet with selected Asia-Pacific participants before expanding into more markets, with digital wallets already accounting for 50% of point-of-sale transactions in Asia Pacific and projected to exceed 60% by 2027. The platform is designed to eventually support programmable corporate payment flows, payment-versus-payment foreign exchange processes and cash movements associated with securities transactions, with functionality and availability expanding after the controlled rollout phase.
