SWIFT, the world’s largest international financial messaging network, announced that it has begun developing a blockchain-based shared digital ledger, along with a group of over 30 banks from 16 countries, with the first use case focused on real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments.
The shared ledger will provide a secure, real-time log of transactions between financial institutions by recording, sequencing, and validating transactions on the blockchain, with rules enforced through smart contracts.
“At Swift, our mission has always been to continually innovate and elevate the cross-border payments experience. Today, we are taking a pivotal step forward: adding a blockchain-based shared ledger to our technology infrastructure,” the network stated in a press release. “The ledger will be built for interoperability, both with existing and emerging networks, while maintaining the trust, resilience and compliance synonymous with Swift and critical to the secure functioning of global finance.”
SWIFT, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a member-owned cooperative made up of over 11,500 global financial institutions and banks across more than 200 countries. It provides an international messaging network that informs users when payments have been sent and received.
It is the largest such platform and, according to SWIFT, the entire world’s gross domestic product (GDP) passes over its network roughly every three days “to keep supply chains moving and economies turning.”
SWIFT’s new landmark initiative was announced at Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt, with the organization saying it will “extend Swift’s trusted platform into a digital environment, unlocking the potential for instant, always-on transactions at global scale and accelerating the industry’s transition to digital finance across more than 200 countries and territories.”
The project will start with a conceptual prototype, designed in collaboration with blockchain technology company Consensys. SWIFT said the platform will be aimed at banks and financial institutions that “want to deliver faster, more transparent payments while preparing for the digital future.”
SWIFT wanted to keep pace with technological change, particularly at a boom time for the blockchain sector. It cited several specific benefits of its proposed shared digital ledger, including real-time visibility and predictability of payments, automated compliance through smart contracts, interoperability with traditional rails and emerging networks, and the ability to move regulated tokenized value securely.
“I’m very pleased to announce that we will add a blockchain-based ledger to our technology infrastructure to allow for trusted movement of tokenized value across the digital ecosystem,” CEO of SWIFT, Javier Pérez-Tasso, said on Monday. “Infrastructure strength comes through layered innovation. It’s not either or, it’s definitely both.”
Pérez-Tasso also acknowledged that the announcement of a stalwart of traditional finance (TradFi) dipping its toes into blockchain may surprise some, saying: “You may think, ‘Wow, aren’t those opposites? Swift and blockchain. TradFi and DeFi. Can they really go together?’ In the regulated system of the future, we believe they can. Banks are ready for it. And they’re asking us to play a bigger role.”
He added that “combining a shared ledger with SWIFT’s existing messaging, APIs and ISO 20022 creates an even more powerful construct – one that can embed risk, controls and compliance requirements from the outset into transaction flows while enabling real-time 24/7 interbank cross border payments with the same trust, security, resilience, scalability and operational excellence Swift is known for.”
The initiative is being developed in stages, with over 30 leading banks collaborating with SWIFT to “define functionality, governance, and future phases of development,” starting with the prototype. However, SWIFT didn’t give any specific dates, saying that timelines will be guided by development and testing phases.
“We look forward to working with Swift to explore digital ledger frameworks,” said Ather Williams III, head of global payments, liquidity and wholesale digital at Wells Fargo (NASDAQ: WFC). “This initiative reflects our commitment to aligning with global regulatory standards while driving innovation across the financial ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, Eva Rubio, Head of Global transaction banking at BBVA Corporate and Investment Banking, described SWIFT’s digital ledger initiative as “a game-changer for cross-border payments.”
She added that “the ability to settle regulated value in real time – with the reliability and security that the industry expects of Swift – will unlock new efficiencies and opportunities for our clients.”
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In February 2022, after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, SWIFT barred major Russian banks—including Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiya Bank, Sovcombank, VEB, and VTB—from its network. This was one of the toughest international and economic sanctions placed on the country, now the most sanctioned in the world.
Being removed from SWIFT delayed payments to Russia for its oil and gas exports, hampered Russian banks, and forced the country to explore alternative money transfer options, highlighting the importance of the SWIFT network.
The messaging network said that, going forward, the shared ledger can be seen as a natural extension of its live digital asset trials and “ongoing innovation.” In this regard, SWIFT also pointed to its development of client solutions for interoperability across private and public networks, which was launched in August.
“Together, these efforts underscore our commitment to powering the future of payments – faster, more reliable, and fully interoperable – at global scale,” said SWIFT.
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Watch: New age of payment solutions
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Source: https://coingeek.com/swift-blockchain-ledger-for-24-7-global-payments-underway/