Swift has begun building the first iteration of its blockchain-based shared ledger, enabling interoperability between banks’ tokenised deposits to facilitate 24/7 cross-border payments.

Since announcing plans for the ledger in September 2025, a group involving a global cohort of banks has been shaping the ledger’s design. Now, having completed this design phase, a minimum viable product of the ledger is planned to go-live with real-world transactions this year.

The MVP builds on existing bank payment applications and Swift standards, introducing a shared digital orchestration layer that will record and validate interbank payment commitments. The ledger enables payments to be executed using tokenised deposits as the underlying representation of value, leverages existing compliance processes and supports multiple settlement options, say Swift.

The ledger MVP is being built on open-source foundations, using an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible architecture based on Hyperledger Besu. Swift will operate the ledger, providing orchestration of transaction workflows, validation of funding commitments and coordination of interbank processes.

Banks will operate their own environments and retain full authority over keys, assets, funding and settlement through RTGS systems, correspondent banking relationships or other agreed mechanisms between participants.

Jonathan Ehrenfeld, who leads the Swift ledger strategy, says: “Adding a blockchain-based 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