Swift has confirmed that its blockchain-based 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 launch marks the first live use case for a ledger Swift unveiled last year and built in nine months, extending a digital asset push the cooperative first signaled when it lined up live trials of tokenized value across its network. The shared ledger gives participating banks an orchestration layer for bank-issued tokenized deposits held on their own ledgers, letting them move client funds around the clock before final settlement runs through existing systems.
Participating banks gain faster money movement and stronger global liquidity efficiency without loosening the compliance, credit, risk and control standards already embedded in payment processing, according to Swift.
The cooperative frames the ledger as an addition to infrastructure that already moves the equivalent of world GDP every two to three days across more than 200 markets, and it arrives after Swift 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.
Ledger Orchestrates While Existing Rails Settle
Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer at Swift, said the capability extends the trust of established finance into digital money and allows “tokenised value to move across borders with the velocity and flexibility modern commerce expects” while holding the resilience, security and compliance that global finance requires.
The ledger records and validates the payment commitments banks make to one another, giving every participant a shared view of where a transaction stands. Tokenized deposits stay issued on each bank’s own ledger, and final interbank settlement completes through the systems banks already run.
Swift reports that 75% of payments on its network reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes and often within seconds. The tokenized deposit focus 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.
Banks Line Up for Controlled Go-Live
The pilot cohort spans six continents and 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 count among the participants that earlier tested Swift messaging in an on-chain environment on Linea. Swift will expand the ledger’s functionality and availability after the initial controlled go-live phase.
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 tied their involvement to always-on liquidity management and real-time settlement for corporate clients.