Overview
- Swift, which announced the MVP shift Monday, plans to run live interbank transactions on the ledger later this year.
- The platform uses Hyperledger Besu, an Ethereum-compatible open-source stack, so banks can run smart-contract style workflows in a familiar environment.
- Participating banks keep control of their keys, assets, funding and settlement, while Swift operates the shared ledger and coordinates payment workflows.
- The design supports multiple ways to settle money, including central bank real-time gross settlement systems and traditional correspondent banking, which avoids building a separate rail.
- Live tokenised-deposit payments will start during the MVP, and more than 25 banks expect to adopt Swift’s retail framework by end of June for instant settlement and clearer fees for customers.