Swift Switches On Its Blockchain Ledger as 17 Banks Pilot 24/7 Cross-Border Payments

Swift activates its blockchain ledger for 17 banks

Swift said its blockchain-based shared ledger is ready for initial use, opening the way for banks to run 24/7 cross-border payments with tokenised deposits. Seventeen banks from six continents are preparing to pilot live transactions on the new infrastructure. The group includes HSBC, Citi, UBS, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Wells Fargo and BNY, and spans banks in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and Australia. Swift called the move a step in scaling digital value across the regulated global financial system.

Shared ledger moves tokenised deposits before final settlement

The shared ledger gives participating banks a secure orchestration layer for bank-issued tokenised deposits held on their own ledgers. It lets them move customer funds overnight and on weekends before completing final settlement through existing systems. Swift said banks gain a better client experience and global liquidity efficiency without weakening compliance, credit, risk and control standards. The cooperative called it the first use case for the ledger.

Swift built the ledger in nine months

Swift first set out its plan for a blockchain-based ledger in October 2025 and built it in nine months, with feedback from international financial institutions. Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer at Swift, said the capability extends established finance into digital money. The ledger will expand in functionality and availability after an initial controlled go-live phase.

"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.", 9 July 2026. — Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer, Swift

Swift network already clears most payments within minutes

The ledger builds on upgrades Swift and its community made to existing payment rails. Swift said 75 percent of payments on its network reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, and often in seconds. The cooperative moves the equivalent of world gross domestic product (GDP) every two to three days between more than 200 markets.

"Swift's digital ledger initiative is an important step in advancing real-time, always-on cross-border payment capabilities. By combining Swift's trusted network with this new infrastructure, we see strong potential to help customers move funds in real-time and manage liquidity more flexibly.", 9 July 2026. — Lisa Vasic, Managing Director Transaction Banking, ANZ

Swift ties the ledger to wider payment upgrades

Swift said the upgrades support the Group of 20 (G20) targets for faster international transactions. The cooperative is also rolling out a retail payments framework with its community. The framework aims to give consumers upfront transparency on fees, full value delivery and a more consistent experience. Swift said the ledger and these upgrades form a foundation for moving value in any regulated form.

Stablecoins frame the shift to always-on money

Tokenised deposits are bank liabilities recorded on a blockchain, unlike stablecoins issued by private firms. Both sit within a growing market for always-on digital money. USDC, a regulated stablecoin, held a market capitalisation near $73.28 billion and traded at about $1.00 (CoinPaprika, 9 July 2026). Swift said its ledger could support future innovation in areas such as programmable money and agentic commerce.

Primary source: Source ↗