The news
Chainlink and Oracle (ORCL) said on September 28 that they are building ways for banks to connect to the Swift blockchain ledger, a system for coordinating cross-border payments around the clock using tokenized deposits. Both announcements came during the Sibos conference in Miami.
Tokenized deposits are ordinary bank deposits represented as digital tokens on a bank's own blockchain ledger. According to Chainlink's release, the deposits stay on each bank's balance sheet while Swift's ledger coordinates the movement of funds between banks, including overnight and on weekends. Final settlement still happens through existing systems such as central bank real-time gross settlement, and the ledger does not change Swift's role as a messaging network.
Chainlink, which provides blockchain data and interoperability software, said it is working to enable financial institutions to connect their systems and key signing infrastructure to Swift's ledger. The design centers on the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) and a self-signing model: banks keep control of the keys that authorize transactions, while CRE runs the workflows that link them to the ledger. Chainlink said this lets banks adopt 24/7 tokenized payments without changing their security governance or approval processes. Chainlink Labs CEO Sergey Nazarov said in the release that the company wants to help banks that seek to join the ledger launch tokenized deposit capabilities.
Oracle said it is integrating with the ledger through Oracle Blockchain Platform and Oracle Digital Assets Data Nexus, which it described as a pre-integrated foundation that can host Swift commitment contracts and provide wallet, signing and smart contract tools. Oracle Banking Payments links those flows to existing ISO 20022 payment processing, the messaging standard banks use for payments, so traditional and tokenized payments can run through one operating model.
"Our integration with Swift's ledger helps institutions bring tokenized deposits into cross-bank payment flows," said Jamie Bullard, a vice president at Oracle Financial Services, in part. Oracle said the work builds on its Swift Compatible Application certification for payments, announced earlier in 2026.
The numbers
- Institutions piloting tokenized deposits on Swift's ledger
- 17 (per Chainlink release)
- Institutions that helped design the ledger
- More than 40
- Time from concept to activation
- Nine months
- Swift reach, per Chainlink release
- 11,500+ institutions and corporates, 200+ markets
Why CEOs should care
For bank CIOs and heads of payments, the question is shifting from whether to join Swift's ledger to how. Both announcements are vendor offers to shorten integration work. Before choosing, ask each vendor what is live versus planned, who holds and manages signing keys, how their tools connect to your core banking and ISO 20022 systems, and what you would need to rebuild if you switched providers later.
For corporate treasurers, a ledger that moves bank money overnight and on weekends could eventually change how much cash you park in each country to cover payments. Ask your banks whether they are among the pilot group or plan to join, which currencies and corridors they expect to support, and whether 24/7 movement will come with clear cut-off times and fees.
For CISOs and risk teams, key control is the central issue. Chainlink's self-signing model and Oracle's custodial wallet and signing tools take different approaches to who holds authorization keys. Map where keys live, who can approve a transaction, and how a compromised key would be detected and revoked before any production use.
The bigger picture
Swift announced its blockchain-based shared ledger at Sibos 2025, according to Chainlink's release, and it went from concept to activation within nine months with input from more than 40 financial institutions. In a September 2 announcement, Citi said it had processed live transactions on the ledger with First Abu Dhabi Bank and OCBC, with DBS and UOB set to follow.
The vendor announcements show the ecosystem moving from pilots toward the software banks would need for production. But neither company named bank customers, and Chainlink described its connection as work in progress, so production use through either vendor has not been confirmed.
What’s next
Watch for Swift to publish which pilot institutions move to regular use, and for Chainlink to say when its connection moves from development to live service. Also watch which banks name Oracle or Chainlink as their route onto the ledger, since those choices will show which integration model wins early.
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