Summary
HSBC and Standard Chartered announced the successful completion of the first live bank-to-bank tokenised deposit transaction on Swift's blockchain-based ledger. The milestone demonstrates interbank interoperability in tokenised deposits and advances progress on 24/7 cross-border payments. The transaction builds on Swift's July 2026 announcement that its blockchain-based ledger was ready for initial use, with 17 banks across six continents preparing to pilot live transactions.
Key Points
- First live cross-border tokenised deposit transaction executed on Swift's blockchain-based ledger
- Announced by HSBC and Standard Chartered (19 August 2026)
- Demonstrates interbank interoperability for tokenised deposits
- Transaction via exchange of payment messages using Swift's ledger
- Obligations recorded as tokenised deposit obligations on HSBC's Tokenised Deposit Service (TDS) and Standard Chartered's tokenised-deposit infrastructure
- Swift's ledger acted as secure orchestration layer for matching and netting prior to final settlement
- Builds on Swift's July 2026 announcement that its ledger was ready for initial use
- 17 banks across six continents preparing to pilot live transactions using tokenised deposits
- Aims to support 24/7 payment availability and better liquidity efficiency
- HSBC's Lewis Sun: "a landmark moment for the promise of tokenised deposits"
- Standard Chartered's Mark Willis: tokenised deposits are a key pillar of its digital assets strategy
- Part of broader industry effort for DLT to support real-world payment use cases at scale while preserving the role of regulated bank money