Swift and Consensys Join Forces to Test a Blockchain for Cross-Border Payments

The global financial network Swift announces a strategic collaboration with Consensys. The goal of this collaboration is to design a shared ledger based on blockchain to accelerate and secure cross-border payments. More than thirty major banking institutions are participating in the project, which will rely on an already tested prototype.

Swift steps out and tests Blockchain

The interbank messaging network, Swift, is preparing to integrate a shared ledger based on blockchain directly into its infrastructure stack. Its first use case concerns real-time cross-border payments, 24/7.

Also, the design will rely on a prototype developed with Consensys, the workshop behind the Ethereum ecosystem and the L2 Linea. More than thirty financial institutions, including Santander, BNP Paribas and HSBC, are involved in the framing and implementation.

This announcement does not come out of nowhere. It extends work from 2023-2024 on tokenization and interoperability between public and private ledgers. It also echoes the “live” pilots planned by Swift for 2025. In short, the core of the banking system is finally attempting an “on-chain” graft, without abandoning its compliance standards.

The persistent rumor of a test on Linea was not just hallway talk. Indeed, several recent reports mention active experiments with this Ethereum L2. This is one more clue that the initiative aims at production, not just a proof-of-concept.

Why Swift is moving now

Stablecoins and crypto rails offer near-instant settlements, with transparent fees. Banks, for their part, still rely on fixed settlement schedules and chains of intermediaries that slow transfers and increase costs. Swift wants to end this asymmetry by offering an always-on service at banking standards.

Moreover, the appetite for tokenization continues to grow. Tokenized deposits, bonds or central bank currencies require secure bridges between old and new rails. Swift aligns with this through a shared ledger, interoperable by design, placing governance and compliance at the heart of the model.

On the market side, isolated private ledger projects have fragmented the ecosystem. By proposing a common framework backed by its network, Swift aims to aggregate volumes and reduce integration frictions for its 11,500 members.

Architecture: shared ledger, interoperability and the role of Linea

The shared ledger targeted by Swift must record, sequence, and validate regulated tokenized value transactions, via smart contracts. However, it must remain compatible with existing systems and new public/private networks.

On the stack side, the idea is not to remove the messaging layer. Indeed, it remains useful for carrying large volumes of data and compliance signals (KYC/AML, sanctions, payment status). The blockchain component becomes the source of truth for transactional state and execution. This decoupling, already noted by Swift, is the key for scaling up.

Linea itself, which is a zk L2, allows low costs, high throughput and finality inherited from Ethereum. It also facilitates bridges to other networks. This aligns with the interoperability goal claimed by Swift and its group of 30+ banks.