Swift has moved its blockchain-based "Shared Ledger" into live operation. On this Swift Blockchain Ledger, 17 banks across six continents are piloting cross-border payments with tokenized deposits around the clock.
Swift is the global messaging network through which banks exchange payment instructions and financial information. Originally, the network is not a payment system but the infrastructure on which institutions worldwide communicate. With the Shared Ledger, however, the operator takes on an active role for the first time. It now acts as an orchestration layer for tokenized bank deposits, instead of merely relaying messages. Swift first presented the concept in September 2025 at the Sibos conference, together with software firm Consensys. A nine-month development phase followed, drawing feedback from more than 30 large financial institutions, among them JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank. Of the 17 live pilot banks, ten have so far been confirmed by name. These are Citi, HSBC, UBS, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Wells Fargo, BNY, DBS, MUFG and ANZ. In total, Swift runs its messaging network for more than 11,500 banks, securities firms and corporate clients in over 200 countries.
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Hyperledger Besu: how Swift's blockchain ledger moves tokenized deposits
The Shared Ledger functions as an orchestration layer, and it explicitly does not replace existing settlement systems. Concretely, it validates payment obligations between the participating banks. It therefore records who owes what to whom. The money itself, however, it does not settle. Final settlement continues to run through established systems such as real-time gross settlement (RTGS) or correspondent banks. Such RTGS systems book each payment individually and immediately. As a result, they do not bundle transactions into batches. Participating banks can thus move client funds around the clock, including at night and on weekends.
The practical benefit lies exactly here. Conventional payment traffic rests outside business hours. Cross-border payments moreover suffer from time zones and public holidays. Funds then often stay locked up overnight. Tokenized deposits, by contrast, can be transferred at any time before the actual settlement runs through the legacy systems. Swift therefore expects greater liquidity efficiency from this, without giving up control over the final settlement step.
Technically, the ledger builds on Hyperledger Besu, an open-source and Ethereum-compatible framework. Swift has developed the system since September 2025 together with software firm Consensys. In addition, feedback from international financial institutions flowed in during the roughly nine-month design phase.
"This is a milestone for regulated digital assets. It makes it possible to move tokenized value with the speed and flexibility that modern commerce expects. At the same time, resilience, security and compliance remain intact." - Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer, Swift
17 banks across six continents: who takes part in Swift's pilot program
The pilot spans six continents and brings together some of the industry's largest institutions. So far, ten of the 17 participants are confirmed by name. The list runs Citi, HSBC, UBS, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Wells Fargo, BNY, DBS, MUFG and ANZ. Swift has not, however, listed the remaining seven institutions individually. The existing network serves as a benchmark for scale. Swift still connects more than 11,500 banks, securities firms and corporate clients in over 200 countries.
For UBS, the participation is moreover already the second major tokenization initiative within a few months. Back in September 2025, the bank was part of a Chainlink-Swift pilot for tokenized fund subscriptions through its UBS Tokenize unit.
"We see interoperability as the decisive lever for scaling tokenized deposits beyond individual institutions. Swift's ledger is an important industry initiative that can connect digital money networks. It supports real-time settlement, higher liquidity mobility, and the broader adoption of tokenized payments and digital assets in the global financial system." - Andreas Kubli, Managing Director, Group Head of Digital Assets, UBS
Tokenized deposits instead of stablecoins: the regulatory difference
The decisive difference from stablecoins lies in the legal nature of the money. Tokenized deposits are, first of all, digital representations of real bank balances that remain within the regulated banking system. Deposit insurance, KYC and AML checks, and accounting at the issuing bank therefore continue to apply. Stablecoins, by contrast, mostly come from third-party providers and are predominantly pegged to the US dollar.
For banks, this is a central argument. Swift stresses that the approach preserves the existing compliance, credit, risk and control standards of today's payment traffic. At the same time, liquidity efficiency is meant to increase. The model therefore addresses precisely the concerns that supervisory authorities voice about private stablecoins.
In parallel, Swift is advancing a second tokenization track. At the end of September 2025, Chainlink expanded its cooperation with the network operator. ISO 20022-compliant Swift messages thereby trigger smart-contract events in the Chainlink Digital Transfer Agent standard. Chainlink is testing this in a live pilot with UBS Tokenize for tokenized fund subscriptions and redemptions. The provider ultimately positions the solution for a fund industry with a volume of over USD 100 trillion.
Swift versus JPMorgan: two paths to the tokenized bank deposit
Swift is not alone with this push, however. In parallel, a group of large US banks is building its own network for tokenized deposits. The effort centers on JPMorgan and The Clearing House. JPMorgan bundles its blockchain activities under the Kinexys unit. The launch is reportedly planned for the first half of 2027. Named participants include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, BNY and Wells Fargo.
Two competing infrastructure approaches are therefore taking shape. Swift bets on a globally orchestrated, cross-bank model. The Clearing House network, by contrast, remains more focused on the US market. Both approaches aim to make tokenized deposits usable across institutional boundaries. They differ above all in reach and governance. Notably, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank joined Swift's 30-bank design phase. Yet they are absent from the current live pilot group.
For Swift, the pilot is only the beginning. The network sees the current phase as the basis for broader interoperability and future applications such as programmable money. The operator additionally cites automated payments by AI agents, so-called "agentic commerce." Coming years will decide whether a single standard ultimately prevails or both networks coexist.
