- Global payments giant Swift is developing a blockchain-based ledger for cross-border payments, partnering with over 30 financial institutions and based on a prototype by Consensys.
- The new ledger extends Swift’s role from messaging to transaction recording, supporting 24/7 transfers of regulated tokenised value and enforcing rules via smart contracts.
- The move is a response to pressure from the efficiency of stablecoin and digital asset rails, with Swift aiming to ensure interoperability with emerging networks like CBDCs and tokenised deposits.
Global payments giant Swift is building a blockchain-based ledger for cross-border payments, in a project that involves more than 30 financial institutions and is based on a prototype developed with Ethereum software firm Consensys.
According to a press release on Monday, the ledger is designed to support 24/7 transfers of regulated tokenised value across digital ecosystems, expanding its role from messaging to transaction recording. No timeline has been revealed yet.
The firm also said it’s working to make its system interoperable with emerging networks for stablecoins, tokenised bank deposits, and digital currencies being developed in countries like China, and a potential digital Euro from the European Central Bank.
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SWIFT is one of the largest interbank communication networks, used by over 11,500 institutions in more than 200 countries. But it has faced pressure from the growth of stablecoins and digital asset rails that bypass its infrastructure.
While a potential displacement is highly unlikely, the organisation doesn’t like the idea of staying behind, hence why it has been testing blockchain and tokenisation for several years as part of its response.
Swift’s CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso stated:
Through this initial ledger concept we are paving the way for financial institutions to take the payments experience to the next level with Swift’s proven and trusted platform at the centre of the industry’s digital transformation.
Javier Pérez-Tasso, CEO at SwiftAll in all, the planned ledger will serve as a synchronised record of interbank payments, sequencing and validating transactions while embedding rules through smart contracts.
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