Swift carries out its first cross-border interbank transaction in real conditions

Swift moves from testing to actual transactions. HSBC and Standard Chartered have completed the first real-world cross-border interbank transaction on the Swift blockchain ledger. The exchange was based on tokenized deposits, that is, commercial bank money represented in the form of digital tokens. The amount, currencies used and payment corridor were not communicated.

Swift connects the two banks' tokenized deposit systems

The transaction combines three distinct infrastructures. HSBC and Standard Chartered first exchanged payment instructions through Swift's ledger. The corresponding bonds were then registered on HSBC's Tokenized Deposit Service and Standard Chartered's tokenized deposit platform.

Swift’s blockchain ledger served as a common orchestration layer. He reconciled the instructions of the two banks, then calculated the net amount of their respective obligations. On the other hand, the final settlement was still made through existing banking systems, according to the Standard Chartered press release.

It is therefore not yet a payment fully settled on a blockchain. Rather, the operation demonstrates that a shared register can coordinate several banking platforms without requiring establishments to abandon their own infrastructures.

This distinction also matters for understanding the nature of the assets used. Unlike stablecoins issued by specialized companies, tokenized deposits remain claims on the banks that issue them. They thus retain the regulatory framework and control mechanisms associated with traditional banking money.

Cross-border payments accessible continuously thanks to blockchain

Most tokenized deposit services today operate in a closed circuit. They allow funds to be transferred between customers of the same bank, but communicate with difficulty with competing platforms. Swift seeks to connect these systems to facilitate cross-border payments available around the clock.

For businesses, this interoperability could simplify cash movements between multiple establishments, improve liquidity visibility and reduce reconciliation times. At the same time, banks would maintain their compliance procedures and their relationships with existing settlement systems.

The operation comes only a month after the launch of the initial version of the Swift registry. Seventeen banks across six continents have committed to testing this infrastructure, including Citi, UBS, BNP Paribas, MUFG and DBS. The Swift network already connects more than 11,500 financial institutions, which could facilitate the adoption of common standards.