Financial messaging network Swift is embedding a blockchain-based shared ledger into its infrastructure to speed up cross-border payments. The move, announced Monday, is aimed at making “instant, always-on cross-border transactions possible at unprecedented scale,” according to Swift.
The initiative has already brought in 30 financial institutions worldwide to co-develop the ledger, beginning with a conceptual prototype built by Consensys. Participating banks include J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Santander, and Deutsche Bank, alongside other major players.
“The ledger will extend Swift’s financial communication role into a digital environment, facilitating banks’ trusted and scalable movement of regulated tokenised value across digital ecosystems,” the company said. Swift emphasized its focus is on infrastructure, while commercial and central banks will determine the types of tokens to be exchanged.
Swift described the blockchain-based ledger as a “secure, real-time log” of transactions between financial institutions. It will record, sequence, and validate transactions while enforcing rules via smart contracts, designed to interoperate with both existing and emerging payment networks.
The company stressed that the system will preserve “the trust, resilience and compliance synonymous with Swift,” even as it integrates with digital assets. “We provide powerful and effective rails today and are moving at a rapid pace with our community to create the infrastructure stack of the future,” said Swift CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso.
Pérez-Tasso added: “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 center of the industry’s digital transformation.” The project reflects Swift’s effort to remain the backbone of global payments while aligning with digital finance trends.
The blockchain effort comes shortly after Swift introduced new rules to accelerate consumer and small-business cross-border payments. Working with many of the same banks, Swift said these changes now enable “fully transparent transfers that exceed G20 targets, with 75% of payments reaching beneficiary banks within 10 minutes.”
By combining blockchain with its existing network, Swift is signaling its intent to stay indispensable to global finance. The shared ledger not only supports institutional needs but also reinforces Swift’s broader push to modernize cross-border payment systems for both banks and end users.
