SWIFT Teams With 30 Major Banks to Launch Revolutionary Blockchain Payment Ledger

Global banking's messaging backbone just went crypto-native.

The SWIFT network—long criticized for its sluggish cross-border transfers—is partnering with 30 major financial institutions to build a next-generation blockchain ledger system. This marks the most significant traditional finance embrace of distributed ledger technology to date.

Breaking the Speed Barrier

Traditional international payments that typically take days will now settle in minutes. The consortium of 30 banks represents trillions in combined assets, creating immediate network effects that could make this the default infrastructure for global money movement.

While SWIFT insists this isn't a replacement for their existing system, insiders confirm the blockchain ledger will operate parallel to current rails—potentially cannibalizing their own legacy business before competitors do it for them.

Finance traditionalists are already grumbling about the irony: the same institution that spent years dismissing crypto now races to adopt its underlying technology. Typical banking—always late to the party but first to take credit when they finally arrive.

SWIFT Enters the Blockchain-based Ledger Payments

Apart from the support of 16 countries, many other financial institutions will participate in the SWIFT blockchain development. The leading payment messaging system aims to build a robust network by leveraging the new technology. The blockchain tech is growing by leaps and bounds, with many institutions being a part of it.

The leading financial institutions that will support SWIFT’s blockchain-based ledger payments are: Absa, Akbank, ANZ, Banco Santander, Bank of America, Banorte, BBVA, BNP Paribas, BNY, Bradesco, Citi, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Firstrand Bank, HSBC, Itaú Unibanco, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho, MUFG, Natwest, OCBC, Royal Bank of Canada, Saudi Awwal Bank, Shinhan Bank, Societe Generale-Forge, Standard Chartered, TD Bank Group, UOB, Wells Fargo, and Westpac.