SWIFT Launches Blockchain Ledger for 24/7 Cross-Border Payments With 17 Banks Joining Pilot

SWIFT announced the launch of a blockchain-based ledger enabling 24/7 global interbank transactions using tokenized deposits. Seventeen banks from six continents, including BNP Paribas, Citi, HSBC, Itaú Unibanco, Lloyds Bank, MUFG Bank, Standard Chartered, UBS, and Wells Fargo, will begin pilot payments on the network.

The ledger allows banks to intermediate tokenized deposits through their internal systems, enabling fund transfers overnight and on weekends. SWIFT developed the platform in nine months, advancing from proof of concept to operation, aiming to ease liquidity constraints and improve fund management efficiency among correspondent banks.