At the Sibos in Frankfurt, SWIFT announced the launch of the first phase of a project for a distributed ledger dedicated to 24/7 operational cross-border payments. The prototype, developed with Consensys, involves over 30 financial institutions in 16 countries.
The official announcement was published by SWIFT on September 29, 2025, and the communication highlights the intention to explore an extension to over 200 countries and territories according to the press release notes.
According to the data collected during the Sibos on September 29, 2025, the demo-event included technical sessions where participants shared operational insights and integration requirements.
Industry analysts present also highlighted the centrality of alignment with standards such as ISO 20022 to make adoption feasible on a large scale. These preliminary findings were gathered directly from the representatives of the banks involved and the development teams on site.
What Was Announced
SWIFT has initiated the first phase one of the project, starting with a conceptual prototype created by Consensys to evolve into a proof of concept and, if validated, into extensive testing with the global banking community (Business Wire).
The proposed architecture envisions a shared ledger capable of coordinating messaging and settlement in real-time, with the aim of reducing execution times, avoiding redundant reconciliations, and increasing transparency along the entire payment chain.
In this context, the design aims to integrate existing components without disrupting operational flows.
Key Objectives (phase one)
- Ensure 24/7 operations for cross-border transactions.
- Reduction of latency end-to-end and errors.
- Greater security through native ledger controls.
- Interoperability with existing standards, including ISO 20022.
Participants: over 30 banks and feedback from 16 countries
The initial phase involves more than 30 financial institutions providing feedback and operational support, representing 16 countries (Swift). Among the institutions involved are:
- Bank of America
- BBVA
- BNP Paribas
- Commerzbank
- Deutsche Bank
- HSBC
- Societe Generale‑Forge
- Standard Chartered
How the Shared Ledger Will Work
The prototype is conceived as a permissioned distributed ledger capable of synchronizing, in real-time, the confirmation and settlement of transactions between counterparties.
This common orchestration is designed to reduce discrepancies and accelerate the execution of cross-border payments.
The design principles include privacy by design, strict access management, and compatibility with existing banking networks, ensuring shared visibility on the status of transactions without exposing sensitive information. That said, the permissioned nature remains central to meeting regulatory requirements.
Technical components under review
- Definition of the architecture and security testing of the ledger.
- Evaluation of consensus mechanisms suitable for regulated contexts (e.g., BFT or other permissioned variants).
- Integration of ISO 20022 messaging and alignment with compliance requirements.
- Experiments on atomic settlement and end-to-end latency optimization.
Roadmap: from trials to pilot
- Phase one: development and testing of the prototype with participating banks, currently in progress (announcement 09/29/2025).
- Proof of concept: controlled tests on real traffic and evaluation of scalability metrics.
- Pilot: potential extension of the project to additional institutions and geographical areas, based on the outcome of the tests.
The schedule for the next steps will be defined based on the outcomes of the initial phase, with SWIFT working to complete the first tests and outline the project’s developments (CoinDesk).
It should be noted that the timing will also depend on adherence to production requirements; further details are expected in the upcoming official updates (update: September 30, 2025).
Expected Impact on Cross-Border Payments
If the ledger architecture proves capable of handling high volumes with high resilience, the benefits for banks and corporates could be immediate: operational payments even on weekends, real-time updates on the status of transactions, and a significant reduction in exceptions.
For example, a treasury will be able to settle a supplier in Asia even on a Sunday, thanks to the precise synchronization of settlement and the reduction of reconciliation discrepancies, with potential savings on operational costs. However, large-scale adoption will require confirmations on throughput, SLA, and interoperability between different networks.
Context: what the market is doing
The SWIFT test is part of a broader push for innovation in international payments. Recently, SWIFT announced an initiative to integrate blockchain technologies into its infrastructure, while the BIS and various consortia are exploring permissioned ledgers for regulated use cases.
Indeed, success depends on interoperability with existing standards, an area where SWIFT has historically played a central role.