SWIFT Advances Blockchain Ledger Integration into Global Payments Network
SWIFT announced it has moved forward on integrating a blockchain-based ledger into its payment network, working with major international banks to develop real-time transaction validation and smart-contract-based enforcement for tokenized assets. The initiative aims to combine a shared ledger for tokenized instruments with SWIFT’s messaging and connectivity, allowing settlement instructions and compliance checks to be coordinated more tightly across counterparties. This development could cut settlement times, reduce reconciliation frictions and introduce automated compliance controls, potentially accelerating tokenization of securities and cash. The effort signals SWIFT’s intent to stay central to cross-border rails as CBDCs and private payment networks evolve, though broad rollout will hinge on interoperability, regulatory alignment and bank adoption; SWIFT says the work is ongoing and builds on earlier distributed-ledger experiments.