SWIFT plans to build its own blockchain in order to process transactions faster between banks from around the world. Some view it as the group’s effort to compete with the speed and scale of stablecoins.
Summary
- SWIFT is teaming up with major U.S. banks to build a blockchain ledger for faster cross-border payments.
- The move comes as stablecoins near $300 billion in market value, pressuring banks to keep up with the rapid growth.
According to a recent Financial Times article, the international payments group SWIFT is seeking to compete with the rapid growth of stablecoins by introducing its own blockchain ledger.
The group plans to team up with major U.S. banks, such as Bank of America, Citigroup and NatWest in order to create a shared digital ledger which would be used to facilitate transactions in tokenized products, including stablecoins.
The blockchain ledger would allow for the group to fast-track cross-border transactions and validate them through smart contracts available on-chain.
The deployment of blockchain technology would become a major gamechanger for a co-operative group like SWIFT that facilitates cross-border payments between more than 11,500 banks and financial services companies across the globe.
In the process of creating this digital ledger, SWIFT will work with Consensys to create a test prototype, which it plans to test with the banks to decide which transactions it will offer first. Earlier this month, the group reportedly began testing testing blockchain messaging on Consensys’ Ethereum layer 2, Linea.
Lately, banks and payment groups have grown increasingly open to adopting blockchain technology as a way to keep up with the rapid growth of stablecoins. According to data from DeFi Llama, stablecoins are nearing $300 billion in market cap having reached an all-time high not too long ago.
At the moment, Tether’s USDT (USDT) accounts for 58.7% of the total stablecoin market, with a market cap of $174.3 billion.
Last July, the U.S. government passed a stablecoin legislation that seeks to regulate the stablecoin market. This move has spurred banks like JPMorgan Chase and Citi to explore launching their own stablecoins backed by the U.S dollar.
SWIFT and more banks adopting blockchain technology
SWIFT is not the only one considering the use of blockchain technology to speed-up its transaction processing. Most traditional banks are at a disadvantage due to the slow rate of traditional payment firms that require a few days to process a transaction that would only take a blockchain-powered infrastructure just minutes.
Stablecoins threaten traditional banks because they offer a faster, cheaper, and more efficient way to move money around compared to legacy banking systems. Pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, stablecoins combine the stability of traditional money with the speed and borderless nature of blockchain technology.
This makes stablecoins an attractive alternative for payments, remittances, and settlements, bypassing the slow and costly rails of banks and reducing reliance on intermediaries like SWIFT.
Most recently, the Qatar National Bank announced it would start using JP Morgan’s Kinexys blockchain to process its USD payments, in order to provide clients with faster transactions and 24/7 services.
“We can guarantee payments as fast as in two minutes,” executive vice president of transactional banking at QNB Kamel Moris said. “It’s a treasurer’s dream.”
