Global financial messaging network Swift has launched its blockchain-based ledger for initial use, with 17 banks across six continents preparing to pilot live cross-border payments using tokenized bank deposits.
The banks participating in the initial pilot are ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, DBS, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), FirstRand Bank, HSBC, Itaú Unibanco, Lloyds Bank, Mashreq, MUFG Bank, OCBC, Standard Chartered, UBS, UOB, and Wells Fargo.
According to Swift, the ledger provides participating banks with a shared orchestration layer for bank-issued tokenized deposits held on their own ledgers. It allows banks to move funds for customers, including overnight and on weekends, before completing final settlement through existing payment systems.
How Swift’s ledger works
Rather than replacing existing payment systems, Swift’s blockchain ledger works alongside them. It acts as a shared orchestration layer that connects bank-issued tokenized deposits held on each institution’s own ledger, allowing funds to move in real time while maintaining existing settlement, compliance and risk management processes.
The company said the new capability can improve liquidity management and provide businesses with faster, always-on cross-border payments without requiring major changes to the current financial infrastructure.
Swift first announced the blockchain-based shared ledger in September 2025, saying it would develop the platform in partnership with Consensys. More than 30 financial institutions contributed to the project’s development before it advanced to live pilot transactions with 17 banks.
The company said it developed the platform in nine months with feedback from international financial institutions, laying the foundation for future interoperability and digital asset innovation across its global payments network. Several participating banks said the initiative could help modernize international payments by enabling real-time money movement across time zones.
Swift Chief Business Officer Thierry Chilosi said the ledger extends trusted banking infrastructure into digital finance. Chilosi added, “It allows tokenised value to move across borders with the velocity and flexibility modern commerce expects, while maintaining the same high levels of resiliency, security, and compliance global finance requires.”
What comes next
Swift said the blockchain ledger will expand in functionality after the initial controlled rollout as participating banks test live transactions.
The company added that the platform could eventually support broader digital asset use cases, including programmable money and AI-powered commerce, while building on Swift’s existing global payments network. According to Swift, around 75% of payments on its network already reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, with many settling in seconds.
The latest pilot is intended to extend those capabilities to tokenized assets within the regulated financial system, offering a bridge between traditional banking infrastructure and the growing digital asset ecosystem.
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