HSBC and Standard Chartered have completed the first live cross-border interbank transaction using tokenised deposits on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger, the banks announced in a joint Aug. 19 statement. The transaction marked the first interbank transfer executed on Swift’s ledger since it became ready for live use.
“HSBC’s interoperability transaction with Standard Chartered via Swift is a landmark moment for the promise of tokenised deposits,” said Lewis Sun, HSBC’s head of digital currencies. He said the demonstration shows how bank-issued digital money can be interoperable across institutions while maintaining regulatory oversight.
How the transaction worked
The transfer was conducted through an exchange of payment messages between the two banks using Swift’s ledger. The resulting obligations were recorded as tokenised deposit obligations on both HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service and Standard Chartered’s tokenised-deposit infrastructure, the announcement said.
For clients, the banks said the work highlights the potential for cross-border payments to support an increasingly 24/7 global economy, in contrast with settlement that pauses outside traditional banking hours.
Building on Swift’s July readiness
The transaction follows Swift’s announcement on July 9 that its blockchain-based ledger was ready for initial live use for tokenised deposits. The ledger is being piloted with 17 banks across six continents, including MUFG, Wells Fargo and Lloyds, and supports multiple currencies including CNH, HKD, SGD, EUR, GBP, USD and AED.
The project is part of a broader industry effort to use distributed ledger technology for real-world payment use cases while preserving the role of regulated bank money, rather than replacing banks with unregulated alternatives.
What it means for cross-border payments
A successful live transaction between two global banks is a step beyond proof-of-concept and toward production interbank settlement on shared infrastructure. Unlike stablecoins issued by non-bank firms, tokenised deposits are liabilities of regulated banks, which proponents argue keeps them anchored to existing supervision even as settlement becomes near-real-time. The demonstration is notable because it ran between two regulated banks on shared ledger infrastructure rather than in a closed pilot.
If the pilots expand, the approach could reduce the friction of correspondent banking by enabling near-real-time settlement of tokenised deposits between institutions that already operate under existing oversight.
