Standard Chartered and HSBC have completed the first live cross-border transaction on Swift's blockchain-based ledger, a milestone that comes roughly a month after the ledger's launch and demonstrates interoperability between the two banks' tokenized deposit systems.

The transaction involved payment messages exchanged between the banks through Swift's ledger, with the resulting obligations recorded on HSBC's Tokenised Deposit Service and Standard Chartered's tokenized deposit infrastructure. Swift's ledger acted as an orchestration layer, matching and netting the obligations between the two institutions before final settlement took place through existing payment systems.

The live transaction follows a July announcement from Swift, the world's largest financial messaging network, that its blockchain-based ledger was ready for initial use, with 17 banks across six continents preparing to pilot live transactions using tokenized deposits. Other banks in the pilot group include Citi, BNP Paribas, BNY, Wells Fargo, UBS, MUFG, DBS and ANZ. As the first of that group to go live, the HSBC and Standard Chartered transaction provides an early working example of cross-institution flows on the ledger, and further live transactions from the remaining pilot banks would mark the next step for the initiative.

The ledger is designed to connect tokenized deposits issued on separate bank infrastructure, enabling 24/7 cross-border payments while retaining existing settlement, compliance and risk controls. That connecting layer addresses a core challenge for tokenized bank money: deposit systems have so far been built bank by bank, leaving each institution's tokens on separate infrastructure that could not interact directly with other banks. Swift's involvement brings interconnection to messaging infrastructure that already carries much of the world's cross-border payment traffic, extending the effort across the correspondent banking system the network has served for decades.

Banks push toward interoperable tokenized deposits

Banks are increasingly testing tokenized deposits across institutions and jurisdictions as industry efforts shift toward interoperability and 24/7 settlement. Tokenized deposits are blockchain-based representations of commercial bank money, meaning claims on deposits held at the issuing bank, which distinguishes them from stablecoins issued by non-bank entities, a contrast banks have emphasized as stablecoins gain traction in payments.

In November 2025, HSBC said it planned to expand its Tokenised Deposit Service to corporate clients in the US and UAE in the first half of 2026, adding to deployments in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and Luxembourg. The bank launched the service in the US in April, offering eligible corporate and institutional clients 24/7 domestic and cross-border transfers using tokenized deposits.

Standard Chartered has also participated in broader efforts to test tokenized bank money across institutions. In July, it was among 28 financial institutions and central banks involved in real-value settlement trials under the Bank for International Settlements' Project Agorá, which settled about $1 million across six currencies using tokenized commercial bank deposits and central bank reserves.

Banks are also developing infrastructure specifically intended to connect tokenized deposits across institutions. The Clearing House, a payments operator owned by some of America's biggest banks, reportedly plans to launch a tokenized deposit network in the first half of 2027, connecting traditional payment rails with digital asset infrastructure for round-the-clock settlement.