SWIFT Goes On-Chain: 17 Banks Pilot Tokenized Deposits While Legacy Rails Stay on Standby 🚂

SWIFT, the interbank messaging network connecting more than 11,500 financial institutions across over 200 countries and territories, announced on Thursday that its blockchain-based shared ledger is ready for initial use after nine months of development. Seventeen banks across six continents are preparing to pilot cross-border payments using tokenized bank deposits, marking SWIFT's first live use case for the distributed ledger infrastructure. The platform enables participating banks to support 24/7 cross-border payments, including overnight and weekend transactions, while final settlement continues to run through existing payment rails during business hours.

Participating institutions include ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, DBS, First Abu Dhabi Bank, FirstRand Bank, HSBC, Itaú Unibanco, Lloyds Bank, Mashreq, MUFG Bank, OCBC, Standard Chartered, UBS, UOB and Wells Fargo. Several of these banks are designated Global Systemically Important Banks by the Financial Stability Board, including BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered, UBS and Wells Fargo. The shared ledger functions as an orchestration layer that allows banks to move tokenized deposits issued on their own ledgers and coordinate real-time cross-border transactions while relying on existing settlement systems and regulatory frameworks.

"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," said Thierry Chilosi, chief business officer at SWIFT. SWIFT said 75% of payments on its existing network already reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, often in seconds. The cooperative plans to expand the ledger's functionality following the initial controlled go-live phase and has noted the architecture is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), though the network remains largely centralized, with banks retaining authority over their own assets.

Carl Slabicki, head of commercial, global payments and trade at BNY, said: "We are pleased to continue collaborating with SWIFT on the use of shared ledger technology to support greater interoperability in cross-border payments. This work is an important step in understanding how these capabilities may evolve over time in a way that complements existing infrastructure and meets the needs of clients globally." Mahesh Kini, global head of cash management at Standard Chartered, said: "We are redefining cross-border payments with Swift's new blockchain-based ledger—combining tokenized deposits with our global network to deliver instant, always-on money movement." The approach differs from public blockchain payment networks such as $XRP Ledger and Canton Network, as well as from stablecoin-based rails, by centering on bank-issued tokenized deposits that remain within the regulated financial system.

The launch comes amid a broader push by major financial institutions toward tokenized deposit and settlement infrastructure. A consortium including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Barclays, BNY and Wells Fargo announced plans in April to launch a tokenized deposit network in the first half of 2027, with The Clearing House operating the network and connecting traditional payment rails with digital asset infrastructure for 24/7 settlement. On March 24, the New York Stock Exchange partnered with tokenization platform Securitize to build blockchain-based infrastructure for tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds, and in January the NYSE's parent company, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), outlined plans for a tokenized securities venue designed for 24/7 trading, instant settlement, stablecoin-based funding and onchain settlement.