At the Sibos 2025 conference in Frankfurt, SWIFT blockchain announced a new project that may change the future of cross-border payments, and in effect, the future of global finance too. The organization announced a plan to build a blockchain-based shared ledger, signaling their intent to modernize the financial messaging system within the rapidly evolving digital finance ecosystem. This move is being seen as part of how blockchain is transforming global payments.
The project is comprised of more than 30 of the largest financial institutions in the world. The collaborators – Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, and Standard Chartered – are responsible for the design, development, and testing of a shared ledger. The goal of the entire project is to create an international payment system that is faster, more secure and lower cost, which is the foundational thinking in the project that considers the future of SWIFT and blockchain technology.
Enhancing Real-Time, 24/7 Payments
One of the main goals is to enable instant payment processing in all parts of the world at any time. The current international payment processes can take multiple days to settle, due to the number of intermediaries needed to move the payment as well as time zone issues. Payment delays add costs to business and reduce economic activity.
SWIFT blockchain for cross-border payments envisages a future payments infrastructure with an emphasis on blockchain in banking enabling settlements that would normally take weeks, to seconds, with no consideration for time zones or system connectivity. If successful, SWIFT’s ambition would reduce transaction costs substantially while improving transactional efficiency for everyone. Make no mistake: this might be a watershed moment in global trade and banking, bringing unprecedented speed and reliability to cross-border payments.
Interoperability with Emerging Digital Currencies
Another crucial aspect of SWIFT blockchain initiative is its focus on interoperability. The new system is designed to be interoperable with several, if not all, varieties of digital forms of money, such as stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits, and central bank digital currencies.
With a majority of governments and financial institutions across the world now reviewing their position on developing a digital form of currency, having a system that allows for this is increasingly important. SWIFT blockchain for cross-border payments claims to be a contemporary flexible bridge between existing finance and the digital economy of the future by being able to accommodate these new forms of money. The capability for interoperability suggests an inclusive and adaptable way forward for the establishment of a future global financial network and faster cross-border payments.
Collaboration with ConsenSys
To achieve this goal, SWIFT blockchain will collaborate with ConsenSys, a blockchain software developer with very extensive commercial experience in the business. ConsenSys will assist in developing a conceptual prototype of the shared ledger, exploring interoperability across finance systems and deeper use of blockchain in banking.
This partnership joins SWIFT’s five decades of messaging expertise in the financial world and ConsenSys’ technical engineering capability with blockchain technology. It represents the success of in person conversations and expertise of both traditional finance and digital technology coming together to create true change in the financial messaging system.
A Unified Approach to Digital Finance
This program represents a larger trend in the financial services industry of more collaboration and co-design. SWIFT blockchain is instilling collaboration into a culture of innovation all whilst involving many banks, technology vendors, and other players in the solutions initiatives. The blockchain ledger is furthermore well beyond a technology initiative.
It is a conscious decision to modernize a global financial infrastructure fit for a better integrated digital world. Through collaboration, SWIFT demonstrates that meaningful change in finance is predicated on all parties in the collaborative process being committed, visionary and trustworthy. In this way, blockchain in banking is set to play a bigger role in shaping cross-border payments.
Looking Ahead
Although there is no firm timeframe for the implementation of the blockchain-based payment system, the collaboration SWIFT blockchain has forged with partners around the world marks a commitment to redefining under the weight of the financial industry. This initiative represents the first step on the journey to broader blockchain adoption in financial services and sets a new bar for speed, security, and cost for cross-border payments.
In many ways, this project represents yet another evolution of financial systems. At its core, it demonstrates a globally trusted financial messaging system that can adapt to technological transformation and ultimately the optimization of global commerce.
To put it succinctly, SWIFT blockchain for cross-border payments is part of how blockchain is transforming global payments. At its core, it is not centered on a development or opportunity, but a thoughtful process of integration between established financial systems and blockchain in banking. Now with new partnerships, and modernization, SWIFT aims to create an improved, rapid, secure, and accessible standard for a future version of the same global connectivity structure for all market participants.
