At Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt, SWIFT announced it will add a blockchain-based shared ledger to its infrastructure stack - its most significant strategic pivot in the cooperative's 52-year history.
The Architecture
Built in collaboration with Consensys, the ledger will record, sequence, and validate transactions using smart contracts. Financial institutions from 16 countries (30+ banks) are co-designing the platform. The first use case targets 24/7 cross-border payments, removing the dependency on overlapping operating hours between time zones.
Why This Matters
SWIFT is moving from a messaging-only network to operating settlement infrastructure. This positions SWIFT as a direct competitor to emerging tokenized settlement platforms - including blockchain-native networks and CBDC bridges - while leveraging its existing 11,500+ institution connectivity base.
Live Digital Asset Trials
Banks across North America, Europe, and Asia are already conducting live (not sandbox) trials of digital asset and currency transactions over SWIFT. A landmark trial with BNP Paribas Securities Services, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Société Générale-FORGE demonstrated seamless exchange and settlement of tokenized bonds with payments in both fiat and digital currencies.
Strategic Implications
For payments professionals, this signals that existing SWIFT connectivity may become the bridge between traditional and tokenized markets. Rather than building new network connections for digital assets, institutions may be able to use their existing SWIFT infrastructure.