Swift blockchain ledger ready: 17 banks including Citi and HSBC pilot 'tokenized' cross-border payments

Global financial infrastructure is undergoing a historic transformation! Swift, which dominates the lifeline of international cross-border payments, announced today (9th) that its blockchain-based shared ledger is ready for use. 17 global top-tier multinational banks, including Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered, and UBS, will take the lead in using "tokenized deposits" to launch real transaction pilots for 24/7 cross-border payments. This innovation not only completely breaks the traditional financial weekend and overnight settlement restrictions but also signals that traditional giants are accelerating their embrace of Web3 underlying technology.

(Previous context: SWIFT重磅宣布：區塊鏈帳本今年上線實作，EVM 架構串接全球 11,500 家銀行) (Background supplement: Stablecoin replaces SWIFT! Tether announces investment in payment platform LemFi, USDT enters Asia-Africa cross-border remittance market)

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• 17 multinational banks strongly support, breaking weekend and overnight transaction restrictions
• How do top banks view tokenized deposits?
• Combining traditional stability, looking toward a "programmable money" future

At a time when the boundaries between digital assets and traditional finance are increasingly blurred, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift), which dominates the settlement lifeline of over 10,000 financial institutions worldwide, has officially taken a historic step toward embracing distributed ledger technology (DLT).

On July 9, 2026, Taiwan time, Swift issued an official announcement stating that its "blockchain-based ledger," which took only 9 months to advance from concept to actual development, is ready for initial use. This major infrastructure upgrade will allow early adopting institutions worldwide to use "tokenized deposits" to support 24/7 seamless cross-border payments.

17 multinational banks strongly support, breaking weekend and overnight transaction restrictions

The lineup of banks participating in this pilot is truly impressive. According to the announcement, a total of 17 top-tier multinational banks from six continents will participate in the first batch of real transaction pilots, including industry giants such as Citi, HSBC, BNY, Standard Chartered, UBS, Wells Fargo, and DBS.

Through Swift's "shared ledger" as a secure coordination layer, these banks can issue tokenized deposits directly on their own ledgers and move funds for clients in real time before the final settlement is completed by existing traditional systems. This move completely breaks the pain point of cross-border payments that could not be settled in real time during weekends and overnight, greatly improving the liquidity efficiency of global enterprises and institutions, while ensuring that the compliance, credit, and risk control standards of the existing financial system are not sacrificed.

How do top banks view tokenized deposits?

These 17 financial institutions participating in the pilot generally hold high expectations for the large-scale application of tokenized assets:

| Participating Institution | | Core view on Swift blockchain pilot | | --- | --- | | Citi | This technology will greatly enhance seamless, real-time cross-border payment capabilities, meeting the needs of multinational enterprises. | | HSBC | Has been actively expanding tokenized deposits in multiple markets, looking forward to bringing a true 24/7 uninterrupted experience to customers. | | UBS | Emphasizes that "interoperability" between networks is absolutely key to achieving global scale for tokenized deposits. | | Standard Chartered | This provides a reliable infrastructure for achieving instant, 24/7, and transparent fund movement. |

Combining traditional stability, looking toward a "programmable money" future

Regarding this technological leap, Thierry Chilosi, Swift's Chief Business Officer, emphasized in the statement that they are extending the trust and stability of traditional finance to the forefront of digital currency. He pointed out: "This allows tokenized value to move across borders with the speed and flexibility required by modern commerce, while maintaining the high level of resilience, security, and compliance required by global finance."

In fact, cross-border payments are only the first practical use case of Swift's blockchain ledger. As the regulated digital asset infrastructure gradually takes shape, Swift has set its sights further. The announcement revealed that in the future, it will further support Web3 native innovative applications such as "programmable money" and "agentic commerce," and combine them with its existing retail payment framework to achieve the G20 goal of improving cross-border payment efficiency.

As these 17 financial giants begin to transfer tokenized value within a regulated framework, this is not only a key turning point in the modernization of global payments but also a symbol that the traditional financial system has officially accepted blockchain technology as the underlying settlement foundation. The value transfer of the future will become as instant as sending an email, and Swift is undoubtedly trying to maintain its dominance as the global settlement hub in this financial revolution.