Swift is moving to evolve its position from a pure financial messaging system to a payment infrastructure provider, with new plans to develop and launch a shared digital ledger that will enable instant cross-border transactions for financial institutions using blockchain technology.
According to the announcement, made this week at Sibos 2025, the shared ledger will “record, sequence and validate transactions and enforce rules through smart contracts”, and is now set to enter proof of concept prior to full implementation.
The initiative involves collaboration with more than 30 financial institutions globally, including JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America, while Swift has also commenced work with blockchain firm Consensys to build a conceptual prototype.
While the initial focus of the project will seek to deliver real-time cross border payments for financial institutions, Swift confirms plans to “work at pace to complete the prototype in phase one and define its future phases of work”.
This complements an initiative confirmed by Swift last October to begin live trials of digital assets and currency transactions through its network in 2025. These trials will allow banks across North America, Europe and Asia to transact across borders using both digital and fiat currencies interchangeably.
Alongside the ledger, Swift has also announced a new range of client solutions to “ensure interoperability between distributed ledger technology and existing fiat currency rails”. The suite will work across both private and public networks, supporting “synchronised transactions for various use cases”.
These two developments follow a set of new network rules for retail cross-border payments outlined by Swift last week. The new scheme framework seeks to guarantee upfront transparency on payment costs, full value delivery with no hidden fees, end-to-end visibility, and a commitment to instant settlement where available.
Source: https://www.fintechfutures.com/
