SWIFT: Two track cross-border blockchain payments strategy

SWIFT is setting a clear timeline for a future where global finance operates without the constraints of time zones or legacy reconciliation challenges.

The company is very much involved in the realisation of two parallel major innovation tracks aimed to redefine interbank cross-border transactions. The Swift retail payments scheme is one half of their track innovation strategy to enable fast and frictionless cross-border transactions, regardless of the type of value being exchanged. The other half is the addition of a blockchain-based shared ledger to their  infrastructure, which will initially focus on enabling 24/7, real-time cross-border payments using tokenized deposits.

In this blog we will go in more detail into these two tracks, describing their architecture, how it works and what they may bring in terns of benefits and what it may fundamentally bring.

SWIFT’s strategy

SWIFT aims to evolve from a trusted messaging system to a trusted platform for regulated digital currencies, which is strategically crucial. SWIFT’s strategy is to remain the central platform where regulated financial institutions manage value transfers, even as finance evolves to become more programmable, continuous, and spread across various ledgers and networks. SWIFT is explicitly geared towards interoperability with both current and future networks, including public and private ones, indicating its desire to stay relevant to established banks while attracting participants operating in newer tokenized environments. This holistic approach signals SWIFT’s intent to be a central orchestrator in the burgeoning digital asset economy, ensuring that traditional financial institutions can safely and efficiently participate. 

I Blockchain shared ledger

In November 2025 SWIFT announced its plans to transform the cross-border payments experience with the creation of a blockchain-based shared ledger. This  to coordinate and synchronize interbank payment commitments thereby connecting traditional banking infrastructure with digital assets and tokenised deposits.

Rather than replacing the existing fiat settlement infrastructure, this ledger acts as an  interoperability  layer between traditional correspondent banking infrastructure and the emerging world of tokenized finance, supporting both public and private networks.

This allows institutions to use blockchain-based settlement without modifying their internal process or compliance.

It is  designed to let over 11.500 institutions bridge traditional fiat systems with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins and tokenised deposits. It combines the speed and security of distributed ledger technology with SWIFT’s trusted scale and reach to enable instant, real-time, 24/7cross border transactions and tokenised value settlement.

By leveraging tokenized deposits within a secure, bank-controlled environment, SWIFT is demonstrating a pragmatic approach to adopting distributed ledger technology. It’s a strategy that blends innovation with institutional trust, ensuring that the benefits of blockchain can be harnessed without disrupting the stability of the global financial system.

Architecture

The technological backbone of SWIFT’s groundbreaking shared ledger is built on robust, open-source foundations. Specifically, the Minimum Value Product (MVP) architecture is designed to be Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible, built on Hyperledger Besu, an open-source distributed ledger platform, to coordinate and synchronize interbank payment commitments.

It functions as a shared digital layer that records and validates interbank payment commitments, using tokenised deposits as value. This choice underscores a commitment to interoperability and a forward-looking approach to integrating with a broader blockchain ecosystem, while maintaining the security and control essential for financial institutions.

Initial settlement will occur through conventional methods, such as Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems,   or established correspondent banking relationships, or other agreed mechanisms between participants providing a secure bridge from traditional finance to this new digital paradigm. This hybrid model allows for a phased and secure transition, mitigating risks while progressively realizing the benefits of blockchain technology.

Under this model, SWIFT will operate and manage the orchestration layer of transactions workflows, providing orchestration of transaction workflows, validation of funding commitments and coordination of interbank processes.

Thunes

Another important element is Thunes that has a direct partnership with Ripple. Thunes, described as a global payments network providing real-time payouts to “billions” of bank accounts and mobile wallets across 130 countries, is integrated into SWIFT’s network, so payment flows from SWIFT-connected institutions can be routed through Thunes. Partners such as Thunes have become particularly relevant in this discussion because they connect traditional financial institutions with alternative payment rails, including digital asset and stablecoin-enabled networks. Through such connections, institutions can potentially access technologies that improve settlement efficiency without requiring a complete overhaul of existing systems.

 What may it bring: Core Benefits

Adding a blockchain-based ledger to SWIFT’s infrastructure will bring the benefits of digital finance into the ecosystem seamlessly and safely, at scale and without compromising the trust and resilience that are essential to global finance, thereby supporting transparency, certainty around cost and instant settlement where possible.

It will  deliver several core benefits for participating banks, including faster payment execution, better visibility of liquidity positions, reduced reconciliation requirements between banks and significantly less administrative work. The SWIFT ledger will enable interoperability between banks and streamline 24/7 cross-border payments, accelerating the industry’s transition to digital finance across more than 200 countries

It also highlighted potential use cases beyond payments, including foreign exchange settlement on a payment-versus-payment basis and cash movements linked to securities transactions.

Interoperability

The importance of this rollout lies not only in the banking institutions involved but also in the infrastructure being built around interoperability and modern payment standards. The blockchain shared ledger will act as a shared orchestration layer rather than a total system replacement, allowing banks to access multiple settlement and liquidity options through integrated infrastructure, thereby maintaining control of funding and assets while interacting seamlessly with traditional payments rails

 Completed the Design phase

The ledger has been in development since November 2025 in collaboration with global banks aimed to define a roadmap for future functionality including the potential use of additional on-chain settlement assets and use cases. The scheme, which SWIFT first announced at its Sibos conference in September has been expanding steadily garnering substantial support from banks worldwide.

Over 40 international financial institutions worldwide, including some of the world’s most influential banks, such as JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America, have actively engaged in the design and development of this transformative project, exploring how a shared interbank ledger could improve coordination across cross-border payments, thereby determining the functions of the ledger, the governance model, and the future roadmap for further development.

Their collective expertise and commitment are vital in ensuring the ledger meets the rigorous demands of global finance. Their input ensures that the ledger is not just technologically advanced but also practically viable and seamlessly integrated into the complex fabric of international banking.

On March 30, the network announced it had successfully  completed the design phase of their blockchain-based shared ledger including multiple experiments. It has actively built its first iteration of a system intended to enable interoperability between banks using tokenised deposits, targeting a live scheme by June 2026 based by the first minimum viable product (MVP) of the ledger.

II Retail payments framework

The second track SWIFT has announced is the roll out of a new framework for account-to-account cross-border retail payments, recognising the growing demand for efficient consumer and SME international transfers. SWIFT’s response is to fix the problems within the existing correspondent banking system (too slow, too opaque, and too expensive ) while keeping banks in full control of compliance, identity, and settlement, by binding participating banks to consistent standards at both ends of the corridor, aimed at making these transactions as fast and predictable as domestic payments.

Over 50 banks worldwide have signed up to this new SWIFT cross-border retail payments’ framework. The framework sits within the G20’s broader roadmap to improve cross-border payments by 2027 which sets specific targets across speed, cost, transparency, choice, and access. SWIFT has aligned its scheme explicitly with that roadmap, giving the initiative political weight that purely commercial payment projects lack.

What may it bring?

The cross-border retail payments scheme introduced new network rules at improving transparency, predictability and speed for consumer and small business payments, this to eliminate the delays traditionally caused by batch processing. Aim is to standardize the consumer and small business international payment experience, making international transfers as fast and seamless as domestic ones.

The scheme is built around a number of enforceable commitments that participating banks must honour, to eliminate the delays traditionally caused by batch processing. It promises consumers and SMEs to bring certainty to speed and costs via upfront fee and fx transparency and certainty, and priorities 24/7 continuous availability  full-value delivery (avoiding hidden intermediary fees), end-to-end traceability, and instant account-to-account  settlement in supported markets.

Customers see exact fees, delivery times and the exact amount the beneficiary will receive before hitting send, with no intermediary deductions along the way. It will deliver money in seconds to minutes where local, real-time domestic rails are available. And every transaction provides end-to-end traceability, giving both the sender and the recipient full visibility throughout the payment lifecycle.

Real-world life trails in June

After completing the design phase with a selected global group of banks, SWIFT will roll out this new cross-border retail payments framework this year,  to support instant settlement, 24/7 transaction processing, and interoperability between banks’ tokenised deposits.

Moving past the design phase, SWIFT has built a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The MVP builds on existing bank payment applications and Swift standards, introducing a shared digital orchestration layer that will record and validate interbank payment commitments. Participating banks use the MVP environment to test continuous, 24/7 payment flows and assess how the coordination layer supports their operational processes, gaining real-world experience of how the coordination layer supports their operations. The use of tokenised deposits is intended to provide a synchronised view of obligations as transactions progress between institutions.

In June 2026, SWIFT has already gone life with their new retail payments framework in a real-world pilot across  financial  institutions using tokenised deposits. More than 25 banks including Lloyds Bank, NatWest, NAB, Societe Generale, ANZ, HSBC, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, and Bank of America, among others started processing real-world payment transactions with participating banks  under this framework affecting cross-border payment corridors across Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Germany, India, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US. They collectively process a meaningful share of global retail remittance volume, and their commitment to the framework’s enforceable standards creates a network effect that grows more valuable as more corridors activate

They are committed to processing live transparent, fast and instant settlements cross-border  payments under this framework actively advancing a parallel blockchain-based ledger to enable instant settlement, 24/7 transaction processing, and interoperability between banks’ tokenised deposits.

Projections indicate that approximately 50 banks from more countries are expected to join by year-end, creating a rapidly expanding network for enhanced retail transfers.

 Deutsche Bank

One of the first participating banks that went life with SWIFT’s new cross-border retail payments framework is Deutsche Bank. The bank has processed inbound transfers from Australia, Brazil and Turkey in under a minute on Swift’s new framework, providing the improved experience to customers receiving money from these countries.

“By joining the new Swift framework, we’re helping to deliver an enhanced experience for customers, offering better transparency and speed in their international payments.” Deutsche Bank

SWIFT Multi-Bank Trials and Ripple’s XRP

There is a discussion on the issue if SWIFT will use XRP directly as a cross-bridge asset for faster settlements. SWIFT could choose a digital asset that’s well-connected to the broader international banking system

Ripple already maintains relationships with a substantial portion of the banks that use Ripple’s technology. RippleNet, the partner network cantered around XRP, has over 300 major banks & payment providers on their list, making XRP an attractive option for SWIFT. At least 30 of the banks , participating in the broader coalition supporting these payment initiatives, already have partnerships with Ripple including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Santander, Deutsche Bank & Bank of America.

The appetite for Ripple’s XRP-based ODL consensus is especially evident in SWIFT’s July bank testing roster. Ripple’s relationships with many of the banks involved could position it close to one of the most significant payment modernization efforts currently underway.

This setup makes XRP technically reachable for SWIFT’s network of 11,000 member institutions, while noting that actual usage would still depend on individual banks’ decisions. In the scenario described, a sending bank could convert local currency into XRP, move value across the XRP Ledger in seconds, and have the receiving side convert into the destination currency. The host portrays the result as fewer intermediaries, no prefunding, and potentially lower costs.

Forward looking

The sheer scale of this collaborative effort is a strong indicator of the industry’s readiness to embrace new technologies to solve long-standing challenges  and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in global payments, while maintaining compatibility with existing systems used by its network

If the MVP launches with real transactions in June 2026 succeeds, it will mark one of the most consequential shifts in global payment infrastructure in decades, essentially bridging traditional banking with blockchain-native settlement, shaping the future of regulated digital money.

In that case  SWIFT will have demonstrated something that matters well beyond cross-border payments: that the incumbent financial infrastructure can move fast enough to compete with the rails that were built to replace it.

Success for SWIFT could mean more than faster payments. It could create a more cohesive and less fragmented global payment landscape and shape the future of regulated digital money.

The correspondent banking system is not going away; it is being rebuilt on faster, more programmable infrastructure. Financial institutions can adapt to infrastructure shifts without having to rebuild every time the rails underneath them change.

It would position SWIFT at the forefront of the digital asset revolution within traditional banking.