Swift readies blockchain ledger for 17-bank payment pilot

Swift says 17 banks are preparing to pilot live cross-border payments on its blockchain ledger, a step toward moving bank money across borders at any hour. The cooperative said on July 9 that the ledger is ready for initial use, with the first transactions using tokenized deposits. Swift’s announcement describes a system designed to connect banks’ digital money while retaining existing settlement infrastructure.

How does Swift’s ledger move the money?

Each participating bank issues tokenized deposits on its own ledger. These are digital representations of deposits held at that bank. Swift’s shared ledger acts as an orchestration layer: it coordinates the movement of those tokens between participating banks, including overnight and on weekends.

The shared ledger does not itself replace the final settlement process. Swift says banks will move funds for customers first, then complete final settlement through existing systems. Think of the new ledger as a shared timetable for banks’ digital payment instructions; the underlying bank deposit and settlement process remain part of the transaction.

That structure matters because payments can move outside ordinary processing windows while banks keep their existing compliance, credit, risk and control standards in place, Swift says. The ledger is designed to support bank-issued deposits, rather than requiring customers to pay with a cryptocurrency.

Which banks are preparing to test it?

The 17 participants span six continents and include ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, DBS, HSBC, Lloyds, MUFG, UBS and Wells Fargo. They are preparing pilot transactions, so the announcement describes a forthcoming test phase rather than a public service already available to customers.

Swift said it developed the ledger with feedback from international financial institutions in nine months. The first use case is cross-border payments with tokenized deposits. Swift plans to expand the ledger’s functionality and availability after an initial controlled go-live phase.

What changes for companies sending money abroad?

If the pilots work as intended, corporate clients could move funds between banks without waiting for weekday payment windows. Banks could also manage liquidity across time zones with more flexibility. Swift says the ledger can support payments overnight and on weekends, while preserving the controls built into current payment processing.

The practical test is whether separate bank ledgers can coordinate reliably across borders and complete settlement through existing systems. Swift’s announcement establishes that the infrastructure is ready for initial use and that 17 banks are preparing to test it. It does not yet establish how widely the service will be used or when customers outside the pilot will gain access.

Sources and documents

• Swift’s announcement — swift.com