Swift to work with Consensys on blockchain prototype for cross-border payments

Global financial messaging network Swift announced that it will incorporate a blockchain-based shared ledger into its infrastructure stack.

The initiative's first focus will be on a real-time, 24/7 cross-border payment use case. Swift said in the release that it will officially design the shared ledger based on a "conceptual prototype" Swift developed with Consensys.

The ledger is expected to facilitate secure, real-time transactions of regulated tokenized value, using smart contracts to record, sequence, and validate transactions. It focuses on interoperability with existing and emerging financial systems, while maintaining Swift’s compliance standards.

Swift announced that it is collaborating with over 30 financial institutions to give feedback on the ledger and later support its implementation. The list includes Banco Santander, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, and HSBC.

While the release offered no further details on Swift's collaboration with Consensys, last week's reports indicated that Swift is actively experimenting with migrating its system on-chain using Consensys' Ethereum Layer 2 Linea .

"Through this initial ledger concept, we are paving the way for financial institutions to take the payments experience to the next level with Swift’s proven and trusted platform at the centre of the industry’s digital transformation,” said Swift CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso at the Sibos conference in Frankfurt. 

Swift said it will also introduce client solutions to ensure seamless transactions across private and public networks. 

Servicing more than 11,500 financial institutions, Swift has previously dabbled with blockchain technology. Last year, Swift said banks would conduct live trials of digital asset and currency transactions over its network at some point during 2025.