IBM Joins Swift Blockchain Pilot to Develop Tokenized Deposit Transactions

IBM has joined Swift's 17-bank pilot program to develop and test tokenized deposit transactions on its blockchain-based shared ledger. The connection allows banks to participate using standard ISO 20022 payment messaging formats.

The move comes as financial institutions begin building infrastructure for production use, with a recent survey finding that 93% of them are modernizing their payments infrastructure. IBM's Digital Asset Haven platform has been connected to Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger, giving banks an alternative to public cloud infrastructure.

The company also introduced an on-premises version of its platform that runs entirely on a client's own IBM Z or LinuxONE hardware without requiring a public cloud connection. This setup keeps the software and cryptographic key management within the bank's own environment.