Sibos: Swift to add blockchain-based ledger to infrastructure stack #
Bank-to-bank payment network Swift is to develop a shared digital ledger with 30 member banks to test the use of blockchain technology for real-time cross-border payments.
Swift will work with Consensys on a conceptual prototype of the ledger, with the aim of facilitating transactions using any form of regulated tokenised value.
It is envisaged that the ledger will record, sequence and validate transactions and enforce rules through smart contracts.
It will be built for interoperability, both with existing and emerging networks.Announcing the ledger at Swift’s annual flagship Sibos conference in Frankfurt today, Swift CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso comments: “We provide powerful and effective rails today and are moving at a rapid pace with our community to create the infrastructure stack of the future.
Through this initial ledger concept we are paving the way for financial institutions to take the payments experience to the next level with Swift’s proven and trusted platform at the centre of the industry’s digital transformation.”Financial institutions from 16 countries are providing feedback on the design of the ledger, and, assuming successful development and proof of concept, the banking co-operative will work with its global community and central banks on implementation.
Swift today also announced it will will add capability to support interoperability across existing and emerging systems to ensure efficient and synchronised transactions for various use cases.In a separate development, Frankfurt-based fintech Swiat has recruited ten European financial institutions to support the launch of a European DLT Network Regulated Layer One.The basis for RL1 is the Swiat DLT network, in production for more than two years and which has successfully completed more than 40 transactions with more than €600m volume.
Under the initative, this network will transition into a new European cooperative structure which will be owned and controlled by financial institutions.
Martin Müller, member of the advisory board of Swiart and board member of DekaBank, says: “Our objective is clear: to position RL1 as a central pillar of the future European financial ecosystem, fully aligned with the ambitions of the ECB’s Appia track and the European Savings and Investment Union.
The support of the ten first market participants demonstrates this collaborative leadership and I am convinced that we can secure the support of many more market participants from the private and public sector.”