Chainlink says it’s building the connective layer linking banks’ internal systems to Swift’s blockchain-based tokenized deposit ledger without forcing them to give up control of transaction approval. 17 banks across 6 continents are preparing pilot transactions on Swift’s ledger, including ANZ, Citi, HSBC, Standard Chartered, UBS, and Wells Fargo.
Chainlink’s system runs through its Runtime Environment, a software layer that coordinates between a bank’s own ledger and Swift’s shared blockchain ledger while letting banks retain their own signing keys. In practice, that means institutions can join Swift’s new smart-contract payment workflow while continuing to manage authorization through their own infrastructure. Swift’s goal is round-the-clock cross-border payments and improved liquidity management.
Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov says the appeal is giving banks a way into Swift’s new workflow without reengineering existing systems or taking on new operational risk. HSBC and Standard Chartered say they completed the first live cross-border interbank transaction on the ledger last month. The bigger question now is whether more institutions move from pilot testing into sustained live use.
Chainlink linking banks into Swift tokenized-deposit pilots is the signal to watch as those tests move toward production.