October 02, 2025
By Anjali Kochhar
SWIFT, the global messaging network used daily by banks to send transaction instructions, has announced plans to build a blockchain-based ledger for its member financial institutions. The initiative, revealed by Bloomberg, marks a major step toward modernising cross-border payments infrastructure.
Over 30 leading banks, including JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, are participating in the project. They will help design and test the new system, which is expected to bring faster, more automated and more transparent settlement capabilities.
The first prototype will focus on enabling real-time, around-the-clock cross-border payments. The ledger is being built using technology from Consensys, the U.S. blockchain firm led by Ethereum cofounder Joseph Lubin.
SWIFT’s ultimate aim is to support not just traditional payments but also tokenized assets including stablecoins, tokenized deposits and other forms of digital value. The new infrastructure would allow institutions to send and receive these tokenized instruments as seamlessly as current fiat transfers.
While SWIFT did not provide a firm timeline, it said the project is part of a broader strategy to support “however value moves” and to prepare the financial industry for the demands of digital finance.
This pivot comes as many large banks accelerate their use of blockchain technologies to streamline core processes such as payments, securities settlement and compliance. Despite years of experimentation, few blockchain initiatives have scaled across institutions due to fragmentation. Differing protocols and standards have made interoperability a key challenge.
Stablecoins are central to many of these efforts. Financial institutions see them as a way to reduce costs and improve speed compared to conventional payment rails. A group of nine European banks recently unveiled a joint stablecoin project, signaling rising interest in this route.
SWIFT already connects over 11,500 financial institutions across more than 200 countries. The network handles messaging for trillions of dollars in transactions, making it a critical backbone of global finance.
“The rails we provide today are powerful and effective. We are moving rapidly with our community to create the infrastructure stack of the future,” said SWIFT CEO Javier Perez-Tasso.
With this move, SWIFT aims to lead in the evolving digital finance era, not just as an intermediary for fiat transfers but as a platform where different forms of value can be exchanged. Success will depend on seamless integration among banks and standardisation of protocols.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency and blockchain stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over four years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
