Swift enables blockchain ledger for cross-border payments

By Milan Rojan

Swift has activated its blockchain-based ledger infrastructure, enabling banks to pilot tokenised deposit transactions for 24/7 cross-border payments and improved liquidity management.

Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer at Swift, said: “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 resiliency, security, and compliance global finance requires.”

The new ledger was developed to support regulated digital asset transactions, allowing participating banks to move tokenised value across borders while maintaining existing compliance, risk and settlement controls. Swift said 17 banks across six continents have prepared to test live transactions using the infrastructure.

The initiative has brought together financial institutions including HSBC Holdings, BNP Paribas, Citi, Standard Chartered and UBS Group as early participants. The platform was designed to connect bank-issued tokenised deposits with existing payment systems, enabling faster money movement outside traditional operating hours.

Swift said the ledger has moved from concept to initial deployment within nine months following collaboration with global financial institutions. The infrastructure will initially support tokenised deposits, with future applications expected to include programmable money and agentic commerce.

The blockchain-based ledger has strengthened Swift’s broader efforts to modernise cross-border payments and improve interoperability between traditional banking infrastructure and emerging digital asset networks. The cooperative said the platform will continue expanding in functionality and availability following the controlled launch phase.