SWIFT's Blockchain Ledger Live as 17 Banks Join Tokenized Deposit Pilot

SWIFT's new blockchain ledger is now live and operational after nine months of development. The platform, designed for cross-border payments, is set to be tested by 17 major banks in a pilot program.

The participating institutions include HSBC, Citi, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ, DBS, and Standard Chartered, which will process tokenized bank deposits on the new infrastructure. Tokenized deposits are digital representations of commercial bank balances.

According to SWIFT, the pilot is designed to test whether tokenized deposits can move across borders reliably, with settlement available around the clock, including overnight and on weekends. The participating banks do not need to set aside their existing frameworks to use the system, as it does not replace the compliance, credit, risk, and control standards already built into conventional payment processing.

SWIFT's chief business officer, Thierry Chilosi, said the ledger's addition marks a milestone for regulated digital assets. He described the system as enabling tokenized value to move with speed and flexibility while preserving security and compliance requirements.