Swift Partners with Global Banks to Build Blockchain Ledger for Real-Time Payments

Swift has stated that it would introduce a blockchain-based shared ledger into its technology infrastructure, a significant move in the development of global cross-border payments. The project will help sustain real-time, 24/7 transactions but retain the integrity, compliance and resiliency that the current Swift network is built upon.

It was announced at Sibos 2025, the annual conference of SWIFT, in Frankfurt. The new ledger will not substitute Swift but will complement its existing messaging and interoperability services to form a hybrid model between traditional finance and new digital asset ecosystems.

Announcement at Sibos 2025 Signals Strategic Shift

Swift CEO Javier Perez-Tasso stated in his opening remarks of the plenary that the move would be surprising to some market segments. He pointed out, though, that blockchain and old financial infrastructure need not be exclusive to each other.

Pérez-Tasso suggests that the future controlled financial system will need trusted institutions to back tokenised value and banks are getting more requests from Swift to become more involved. He explained that the new ledger will facilitate the trusted transference of digital value across unlimited ecosystems without compromising regulatory control and operational excellence.

Designing a Shared Digital Ledger

Swift is also working on the ledger with a group of over 30 international financial institutions. The initial application will involve 24/7, real-time cross-border bank-to-bank payments, which deal with the historical issues of speed of settlement, transparency, and liquidity management.

The first stage will be a conceptual prototype, which will be constructed using Consensys. Ledger will document, number, and verify transaction and implement established policies by using smart contracts. According to Swift, the principle of interoperability is still part of the design, as the ledger can be connected to the current correspondent banking rails and to the new blockchain networks in the future.

Combining Blockchain With Existing Swift Infrastructure

Instead of working alone, the shared ledger will be part of the current messaging services, APIs, and ISO 20022 standards at Swift. The approach enables the integration of compliance checks, risk controls, and governance requirements into transaction flows throughout their inception.

Swift thinks that this multi-layered innovation model will enhance predictability and efficiency in cross-border payments, and help banks to serve tokenised money and assets in a trusted global system. The organisation emphasised that resilience, scalability, and security will not be compromised as pillars of the system.

Broad Industry Participation From Global Banks

There are 16 countries that are already involved in the design and governance of the ledger through financial institutions. Some of the participating banks are: Bank of America, BNP Paribas, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Citi, Standard Chartered, Wells Fargo, BBVA and ANZ, among others.

A number of the executives underscored the value of cooperation, saying that just one institution cannot modernize global payments. The necessity to have common standards and interoperability within currency spheres, as well as an infrastructure that would handle regulated digital assets at scale were frequently mentioned.

Focus on Compliance, Governance, and Scale

Swift reiterated on several occasions that the project is focused on regulatory compliance and governance. The common ledger is being designed in ways that meet the global regulatory requirements so that it is capable of supporting tokenised value without impairing the financial stability or trust.

The development of the ledger as a platform governed by the industry allows Swift to motivate the wide usage without fragmentation among different blockchain systems. The organisation feels that this strategy will bring the financial sector to a homogeneous set of digital money and settlement standards.

Looking Ahead to the Future of Payments

The blockchain foundation on a ledger is founded on the already established digital asset trials and interoperability efforts at both public and privately operated networks by Swift. Swift is also building client-facing solutions along with the ledger to enable value to flow smoothly between traditional accounts, tokenised assets and blockchain-based systems.