Swift, the messaging backbone that connects over 11,000 financial institutions worldwide, has activated its blockchain-based shared ledger that enables participating banks to move tokenized deposits across borders around the clock, improving payment speed and liquidity efficiency, according to a Thursday announcement.
“With our new ledger capability, we’re extending the trust and stability of established finance into the frontiers of digital money. It allows tokenized value to move across borders with the velocity and flexibility modern commerce expects, while maintaining the same high levels of resiliency, security, and compliance global finance requires,” Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer at Swift, stated.
The platform will be piloted by 17 banks, with participants including Citi, ANZ, Standard Chartered, FirstRand Bank, Itaú Unibanco, and BNP Paribas, among others.
Chilosi said strong support from participating banks could help scale regulated digital payments globally while laying the foundation for innovations such as programmable money and agentic commerce.
“The launch of Swift’s blockchain-based ledger represents an important step towards enabling always-on payments and liquidity,” Citi’s Head of Payments, Debopama Sen, commented on the move. “Leveraging Swift’s innovative blockchain-based messaging infrastructure allows us to create interoperable payment solutions, powered by Citi’s network, enhances our ability to serve our global clients with greater speed, resilience and security.”
