SWIFT, the global financial messaging backbone, has officially launched its own blockchain-based ledger system. The organization also announced a pilot program involving 17 major international banks to test 24/7 cross-border payments using deposit tokens. This marks a notable shift, as it shows that traditional finance is starting to adopt blockchain technology more directly.
The pilot aims to make cross-border transactions faster and more efficient by operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The system runs on SWIFT’s own distributed ledger infrastructure. It allows banks to process international payments via deposit tokens without being constrained by traditional banking hours or settlement delays.
Which banks are involved?
The 17 participating banks include some of the biggest names in global finance. These include ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Standard Chartered, UBS, UOB and Wells Fargo. The involvement of these large institutions suggests that SWIFT’s initiative is not just a small-scale experiment. This appears to be preparation for real-world financial applications.
SWIFT said the new infrastructure has been developed over the past nine months. It was shaped by feedback from international financial institutions after an initial announcement last year. The goal was to make blockchain technology compatible with existing banking systems while reducing the time, costs and operational friction that often plagues international payments.
Why it matters
Experts view SWIFT’s move as a strategic response to growing competition in the financial sector involving stablecoins, tokenized deposits and other on-chain payment solutions. As traditional payment networks face pressure from faster and cheaper blockchain-based alternatives, SWIFT is trying to stay relevant by adopting the technology itself. Deploying its own distributed ledger infrastructure could be an important step for the future of global payment systems, even if adoption takes time.
*This does not constitute investment advice.
