HSBC and Standard Chartered have completed the first live cross-border tokenised deposit transaction using Swift’s blockchain-based ledger, marking a key milestone in interbank digital asset settlement.
The transaction connects regulated commercial bank deposits across disparate digital ledgers, demonstrating institutional interoperability and enabling round-the-clock liquidity management and cross-border settlement.
The transfer was conducted via payment messages exchanged between HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service (TDS) and Standard Chartered’s internal tokenised deposit infrastructure.
Swift’s blockchain ledger served as a shared orchestration layer, matching and netting deposit obligations between the two institutions ahead of final settlement across existing payment rails.
The transaction follows Swift’s announcement in July 2026 that its blockchain infrastructure was prepared for live pilots with a cohort of 17 global banks across six continents.
Its completion has, according to HSBC, signalled the “next step for cross-border payments”.
“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.
Mark Willis, head of emerging payments, transaction services and digital assets at Standard Chartered, added: “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.
“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.”
