The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) has officially launched its blockchain-based ledger infrastructure, enabling banks to pilot tokenised deposit transactions for 24/7 cross-border payments and improved liquidity management. According to reports from TradingView News, the cooperative developed the new ledger to support regulated digital asset transactions, allowing participating banks to move tokenised value across borders while maintaining existing compliance, risk and settlement controls. The infrastructure moved from concept to initial deployment within nine months following collaboration with global financial institutions, with the launch announced on July 9. As reported by Swift, this marks the first use case for the ledger, which Swift announced last year and designed and built with feedback from international financial institutions in just nine months. The development sets the stage for next generation innovation and interoperability on infrastructure already trusted to move the equivalent of world GDP every two to three days between more than 200 markets and with a record for sustaining the highest levels of operational excellence.
Seventeen banks from six continents are preparing to pilot live transactions, reflecting strong global demand for the new addition to Swift's technology stack and its ability to unlock faster, flexible money movement across the world. HSBC, Citi, DBS, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, MUFG Bank, UBS and Wells Fargo are among the participating banks, as reported by Banking - Business Standard. The platform allows banks to move funds for customers outside traditional business hours, including at nights and on weekends, before completing the final settlement through existing systems. Thierry Chilosi, chief business officer at SWIFT, stated that the addition to Swift's "resilient global platform marks a key milestone for regulated digital assets" that could lay the foundation for future innovation. Lisa Vasic, managing director, transaction banking, ANZ, added that "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, commented that "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."
The shared ledger works as an orchestration layer, not a settlement replacement, with banks issuing tokenized deposits on their own systems and using Swift's infrastructure to move funds around the clock. However, the underlying money only becomes final once it clears through Swift's traditional messaging network, as reported by BeInCrypto. HSBC and Standard Chartered both pointed to faster liquidity visibility and fewer reconciliation delays as the pilot's main draw for corporate clients. The ledger was built on Linea, an Ethereum layer-2 network developed by ConsenSys, using an EVM-compatible model based on Hyperledger Besu, but access remains fully permissioned with only the bank consortium controlling who can transact on it. The design phase drew input from more than 30 banks, including JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, with the group narrowing to the current 17-bank pilot lineup. The pilot uses bank-issued tokenized deposits rather than stablecoins or public crypto assets, with each token backed one-to-one by commercial bank deposits, giving it the same regulated status as money held in a traditional bank account.
According to TradingView News, 75% of payments on Swift's existing network already reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, often in seconds. The financial and crypto worlds are moving to address interoperability challenges, with more than 11,500 banks and financial institutions across over 200 countries and territories supported by Swift's infrastructure. The new ledger will let participating banks process cross-border payments at any time, including weekends and overnight, while preserving the compliance, credit, risk and control standards already used in existing payment systems. Banks benefit from improved client experience and global liquidity efficiency without compromising compliance, credit, risk and control standards embedded in existing payment processing. Thierry Chilosi, chief business officer at SWIFT, emphasized that "With our new ledger capability, we're extending the trust and stability of established finance into the frontiers of digital money. It allows tokenised value to move across borders with the velocity and flexibility modern commerce expects, while maintaining the same high levels of resilience, security and compliance global finance requires."
As reported by Swift, the platform was designed to connect bank-issued tokenised deposits with existing payment systems, enabling faster money movement outside traditional operating hours. Thierry Chilosi, chief business officer at SWIFT, stated that the new ledger could support future use cases such as programmable money and agentic commerce while allowing tokenized value to move across borders without compromising resilience, security or compliance. The infrastructure will initially support tokenised deposits, with future applications expected to include programmable money and agentic commerce. Thierry Chilosi emphasized that "With our new ledger capability, we're extending the trust and stability of established finance into the frontiers of digital money." MUFG Bank noted that "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." OCBC emphasized that "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." Citi highlighted that "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."
The development comes after months of blockchain development inside Swift, with the company disclosing plans in September 2025 to build a blockchain ledger with major banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, and NatWest, to support tokenized products such as stablecoins and accelerate cross-border payments through smart contracts. Later that month, reports indicated Swift had begun working with a consortium including BNY Mellon and BNP Paribas to test migrating parts of its core messaging infrastructure onto Consensys' Ethereum layer-2 network, Linea. The rollout also follows similar initiatives across the banking industry, with a consortium including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Barclays, BNY and Wells Fargo announcing plans for a tokenized deposit network expected to launch in the first half of 2027, with The Clearing House operating infrastructure that connects traditional payment rails with digital asset systems for continuous settlement. Interest in tokenized financial infrastructure has also spread to capital markets, with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) partnering with tokenization platform Securitize in March to build blockchain-based infrastructure for tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds, while its parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), previously outlined plans for a tokenized securities venue featuring 24/7 trading, instant settlement, stablecoin-based funding and onchain settlement. Cross-border payment volumes could grow from $194.6 trillion in 2024 to $320 trillion by 2032, according to J.P. Morgan estimates, giving SWIFT's incumbent network plenty to defend.
