HSBC and Standard Chartered complete first live cross-border tokenised deposit transaction on Swift’s blockchain ledger

HSBC and Standard Chartered today announced the successful completion of bank-to-bank tokenised deposit interoperability through the execution of the first live cross-border transaction on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger. 

This milestone advances the use of tokenised deposits by regulated financial institutions to issue, transfer, record, and settle tokenised deposits securely and efficiently.

Advancing 24/7 cross-border payments with tokenised deposits

The live transaction builds on Swift’s July 2026 announcement that its blockchain-based ledger was ready for initial use. 17 banks across six continents are preparing to pilot live transactions using tokenised deposits to enable 24/7 payment availability and improve liquidity efficiency. Today’s announcement is the first interbank transaction executed on Swift’s ledger.

Lewis Sun, Head of Digital Currencies at HSBC, said, “HSBC’s interoperability transaction with Standard Chartered via Swift is a landmark moment for the promise of tokenised deposits. It demonstrates how digital money issued by banks can be interoperable across institutions while maintaining the integrity and regulatory oversight of the existing financial ecosystem.

“Tokenised deposit interoperability underscores how we can bring together different infrastructures to benefit our clients. For corporates, this is about solving real-world challenges, such as moving liquidity around the world, across financial institutions, increasing cash visibility and reducing the complexities sometimes associated with traditional cross-border transactions.”

How the transaction was conducted

The transaction involved the exchange of payment messages between HSBC and Standard Chartered using Swift’s ledger. The resulting obligations were recorded as tokenised deposit obligations on HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service (TDS) and Standard Chartered’s tokenised-deposit infrastructure. 

Swift’s blockchain-based ledger served as a secure orchestration layer, enabling the obligations to be matched and netted between the two banks prior to final settlement through existing systems.

For clients, this development highlights the potential for cross-border payments to better support an increasingly 24/7 global economy.

Mark Willis, Head of Emerging Payments, Transaction Services and Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, said, “Tokenised deposits are a key pillar of Standard Chartered’s digital assets strategy which aims to build end-to-end solutions that enable our clients to transact, settle and manage tokenised liquidity and value across borders.”

“We are pleased to partner with HSBC on executing the first live transaction on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger marking an important step towards more seamless, always-on financial services.” 

“As institutional demand grows for faster, more efficient ways to move liquidity and optimise working capital increase, interoperable tokenised deposits will play an increasingly important role in helping corporate and institutional clients manage treasury, unlock operational efficiencies and support real time liquidity management across markets.”

This transaction is part of a broader industry effort to leverage distributed ledger technology to support real-world payment use cases at scale, while preserving the role of regulated bank money.