Swift said it is preparing live tests of a blockchain-based shared ledger with 17 banks, aiming to let regulated institutions move tokenised deposits outside normal banking hours while keeping final settlement on existing payment systems.

Swift said the blockchain payments ledger is ready for initial use by banks across six continents.

The pilot is designed for customer fund movements overnight and on weekends, before final settlement through existing rails.

Swift Names 17 Banks For Shared Ledger Tests

The named banks taking part include UBS, BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, HSBC and Wells Fargo.

The bank-owned messaging network said the ledger gives banks a shared layer for tokenised deposits issued on their own ledgers.

Swift described tokenised deposits as digital versions of commercial bank money.

Swift said the project builds on a shared-ledger platform it announced in October.

The earlier plan was to let banks settle transactions involving stablecoins and tokenised assets across multiple blockchains while working alongside current payment rails rather than replacing them.

Existing Rails Still Handle Final Settlement

Swift said the new system is meant to allow banks to move customer funds overnight and on weekends.

Final settlement would still occur through existing payment systems.

Swift's design keeps the always-on movement of tokenised deposits separate from the final settlement layer.

The project remains inside bank-led infrastructure rather than a public-chain stablecoin network.

Swift said the ledger will support regulated digital money and tokenised assets across multiple blockchains.

The network said the system extends traditional banking controls to faster, always-on payments.

Swift Reports 75% Of Network Payments Reach Banks Within 10 Minutes

Swift said 75% of payments on its network reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, often in seconds.

Swift is presenting the ledger as an added availability layer for regulated digital money.

Thierry Chilosi, Swift's chief business officer, said the new ledger capability extends the trust and stability of established finance into digital money.

The public details did not name customer transactions from banks, payment firms or crypto companies.

The public details did not identify all 17 banks beyond the named examples, disclose a live-production start date, name first customer transactions, publish pricing, or say when final settlement could move away from existing systems.