Swift Activates Blockchain Ledger for Live Tokenized Payments with 17 Global Banks; MUFG Joins as Sole Japanese Representative
Financial messaging giant Swift has moved its proprietary blockchain-based ledger from concept to operational readiness, clearing the way for 17 major financial institutions across six continents to pilot live, tokenized cross-border transactions. Developed in a rapid nine-month window following its initial announcement, the shared ledger functions as a secure orchestration layer. This infrastructure allows participating banks to transact bank-issued tokenized deposits 24/7—including overnight and weekends—before final settlement is cleared through traditional networks.
The pilot cohort features a geographically diverse group of global banking heavyweights, including ANZ, BNP Paribas, Citi, HSBC, and UBS. Notably, MUFG Bank stands out as the sole Japanese financial institution participating in the launch, underlining its distinct role in anchoring East Asian representation within Swift's emerging digital value ecosystem.
The initiative aims to significantly optimize liquidity management and accelerate cross-border settlement speeds without compromising established compliance, credit, or risk controls. According to Swift, the ledger's architecture is positioned to serve as a foundational framework for future digital finance innovations, including programmable money and agentic commerce.
Thierry Chilosi, Chief Business Officer at Swift, emphasized that the project extends the stability of traditional finance into digital asset frontiers, meeting modern commercial demands for transaction velocity. As the controlled go-live phase progresses, Swift plans to expand both the ledger's functionality and its broader institutional availability.
Masahiro Matsumoto, Senior Fellow, Global Head of Transaction Banking at MUFG Bank, said: “MUFG Bank is proud to join Swift and global industry partners in advancing the exploration of next-generation financial market infrastructure. We see strong potential for tokenized deposits and distributed ledger technology to contribute to more efficient and transparent cross-border payments and liquidity management over time. Through our participation in this initiative, we are focusing on piloting and evaluating practical use cases, while carefully considering how these innovations can be integrated into existing financial ecosystems in a safe, scalable, and client-centric manner.”
Full List of Participating Institutions
- ANZ
- BNP Paribas
- BNY
- Citi
- DBS
- First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
- FirstRand Bank Limited
- HSBC
- Itaú Unibanco
- Lloyds Bank
- Mashreq
- MUFG Bank
- OCBC
- Standard Chartered
- UBS
- UOB
- Wells Fargo
Norbert Gehrke
