Swift has completed the design phase for its blockchain-based shared ledger and is now building its minimum viable product (MVP). This ledger aims to enable interoperability between banks’ tokenized deposits to facilitate 24/7 cross-border payments.
The MVP is scheduled to go live with real-world transactions this year. Swift is collaborating with international banks to define future functionalities and explore other on-chain settlement assets and use cases. This initiative seeks to accelerate the industry’s transition to digital finance across more than 200 countries and territories.
Shared Ledger MVP Implementation
Since Swift announced plans for the ledger in September 2025, a group of global banks has collaborated on its design. They investigated how a shared interbank ledger could enhance cross-border payment coordination, aligning with industry demands for always-on services. The MVP will build upon existing bank payment applications and Swift standards. It introduces a shared digital orchestration layer for recording and validating interbank payment commitments. The ledger will support payments executed using tokenized deposits as the representation of value, integrate existing compliance processes, and accommodate multiple settlement options.
The MVP is being constructed on open-source foundations, utilizing an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible architecture based on Hyperledger Besu. Its design emphasizes integration with the broader digital asset ecosystem, establishing a new layer within Swift’s infrastructure. This layer will combine distributed ledger technology capabilities with Swift’s global reach, security, and standards. Swift will manage the ledger, overseeing transaction workflows, validating funding commitments, and coordinating interbank processes. Participating banks will maintain control over their own environments, including keys, assets, funding, and settlement, through RTGS systems, correspondent banking relationships, or other agreed mechanisms.
This progress aligns with Swift’s strategy to optimize cross-border payments regardless of value transfer method. In parallel, Swift is developing a new set of network rules to ensure consistent speed and predictability for consumers and small businesses. This includes upfront transparency on payment costs, guaranteed full value delivery, end-to-end visibility, and a commitment to instant settlement where feasible. These efforts aim to scale the benefits of digital finance without compromising the trust and resilience of current models.
“We’re focused on delivering the best possible cross-border payments experience, whatever form value takes. Adding a blockchainbased ledger to our infrastructure will bring the benefits of digital finance into the ecosystem seamlessly and safely, at scale and without compromising the trust and resilience that are essential to global finance.”
said Jonathan Ehrenfeld, who leads the Swift ledger strategy. With over 11,500 institutions connected in more than 200 countries and territories, and more than 40,000 active payment routes, Swift offers established scale, reach, and resilience. This positions Swift to support the industry’s safe and consistent adoption of new digital value forms across markets.
Benefits and Future Development
The ledger is designed to provide several key benefits for participating banks, including faster payment execution, improved liquidity visibility, reduced reconciliation efforts, and enhanced interoperability. The model may also support advanced interbank processes such as programmable corporate payment flows, foreign exchange PvP, and cash movements for securities transactions. These capabilities are built on shared visibility principles, fostering better coordination among institutions without creating competing systems or fragmenting existing infrastructure.
In the near term, banks involved in the MVP will commence live transactions using tokenized deposits. This will enable real-time, 24/7 payments between institutions and provide a synchronized view of obligations as transactions progress. The immediate focus is on delivering practical utility while preparing for the integration of future forms of digital money. The MVP also serves as a testing environment for institutions to explore 24/7 payment flows and understand how the coordination layer supports their operations. As these capabilities mature, the ledger is expected to demonstrate the advantages of combining tokenized commercial bank money with Swift’s standards and connectivity to facilitate predictable, efficient, and scalable cross-border value transfer. Swift continues to focus on enhancing the cross-border payments experience through its parallel track strategy. Alongside the ledger initiative, over 25 banks are set to introduce Swift’s new framework for retail transactions by the end of June, emphasizing transparency, cost certainty, and instant settlement where possible.
