SWIFT confirmed on July 22 that its blockchain-based shared ledger is ready for initial use, clearing the way for 17 banks across six continents to pilot live cross-border payments settled with tokenized deposits. The ledger, first unveiled last year and built in nine months, marks a digital asset push for SWIFT, which previously tested payments on Ethereum layer-2 Linea with Bank of America, Citi and JPMorgan Chase in a pilot positioned against Ripple's XRP-based network.
Orchestration Layer Leaves Final Settlement on Existing Rails
SWIFT frames the shared ledger as an addition to infrastructure that already moves the equivalent of world GDP every two to three days across more than 200 markets. The ledger records and validates payment commitments banks make to each other, providing every participant a shared view of transaction status. Tokenized deposits stay issued on each bank's own ledger, and final interbank settlement completes through systems banks already run. Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer at SWIFT, said the capability extends trust from traditional finance into digital money, allowing "tokenised value to move across borders with the velocity and flexibility modern commerce expects" while maintaining resilience, security and compliance. SWIFT reports 75% of payments on its network reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, often in seconds. The tokenized deposit focus gives banks around-the-clock fund movement without loosening compliance, credit, risk and control standards.
17 Banks Span Six Continents, HSBC Connects Tokenised Deposit Service
The pilot cohort includes 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. BNP Paribas and BNY previously tested SWIFT messaging in an on-chain environment on Linea. HSBC said it connected its Tokenised Deposit Service to the new ledger, building on tokenized deposit capabilities it already runs across multiple markets. Other participants linked their involvement to always-on liquidity management and real-time settlement for corporate clients. SWIFT will expand the ledger's functionality and availability after an initial controlled go-live phase. The current effort follows earlier settlement work, including a January pilot in which SWIFT settled tokenized bonds with Societe Generale's euro stablecoin across issuance, delivery-versus-payment and redemption.