Citi Executes Live Transactions on Swift’s Blockchain Ledger
Swift’s blockchain-based ledger is designed to connect traditional finance with digital assets through shared infrastructure. It enables instant payment commitments using tokenized deposits while retaining established settlement rails, including real-time gross settlement, for final settlement. For institutional clients, the significance lies in the potential for interoperable, cross-bank and cross-currency payments to operate around the clock, avoiding conventional cut-off times and weekend closures while improving liquidity management.
On Sept. 2, Citi said it had completed live U.S. dollar transactions with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, becoming the first U.S. bank to execute live native transactions on Swift’s ledger. The amounts were not disclosed. The transactions were regional firsts for the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The controlled proof-of-concept runs from July through December 2026, with DBS and United Overseas Bank expected to join later in September. Citi said its 24/7 USD Clearing service supports more than 300 bank clients, while Citi Token Services has processed about $1 billion.
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The history behind this eventSwift Enlists 17 Banks for Tokenized Deposit Ledger Pilot
Swift connects more than 11,500 financial institutions across over 200 markets, underpinning a network estimated to carry about $1.5 quadrillion in transactions annually. Its new Ethereum-compatible ledger is designed as an orchestration layer linking tokenized deposits issued on banks’ own systems. Final interbank settlement will continue through existing infrastructure, allowing lenders to retain compliance, credit and risk controls rather than replacing Swift or the banking system.
Swift said on July 9, 2026, that the ledger was ready for initial use, about nine months after unveiling the project on Sept. 29, 2025. Seventeen banks from six continents—including Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered, UBS and Wells Fargo—are preparing to pilot live transactions. The trial will test whether tokenized deposits can move between institutions around the clock, including overnight and on weekends, while meeting the resilience, scalability and regulatory standards required for global payments.
Swift and 17 Banks Launch Tokenized Deposit Pilot on Blockchain Ledger
As financial institutions worldwide explore blockchain technology, the rise of tokenized deposits and digital assets is confronting a fragmentation problem because their ledgers cannot communicate with one another. Swift, a hub for global cross-border settlement, has introduced a shared blockchain ledger designed to connect banks’ tokenized assets. The system aims to address the shutdown of cross-border payments on weekends and overnight by enabling instant transactions around the clock, marking an important step in financial digitization.
Swift said on July 9, 2026, that its shared blockchain ledger was ready after nine months of development and that it had launched a tokenized-deposit pilot with 17 financial institutions across six continents. Participants include HSBC, Citi, DBS, ANZ and Wells Fargo. The pilot allows banks to issue and transfer tokenized deposits on their own ledgers while testing instant cross-border transactions under existing compliance and risk-control standards, laying the groundwork for programmable money.
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