AI · CoinDesk
Inside the high-stakes battle between digital dollars and Swift's large money engine
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With many blockchain-based infrastructures popping up, promising to be faster and cheaper for cross-border transfers, one could argue that this might be the case.
Key facts
- It facilitated the transfer of an estimated $5 trillion daily, roughly $1.2 quadrillion to $1.5 quadrillion annually, of the total global payments market that McKinsey estimated at around $2
- While the scale of the transaction dwarfs Swift's current processing power of more than 53 million financial messages a day for 11,500 financial institutions across more than 200 countries
- What Swift is solving for is how to make that faster, cheaper, and available 24/7
- Citi, for example, moves $6 trillion daily, mostly through SWIFT but also through many other networks, said Sen
Summary
Swift is adding blockchain capabilities to its vast banking network as stablecoins and tokenized deposits promise faster, cheaper and round-the-clock cross-border payments. Supporters say Swift’s connections to 11,500 financial institutions could make it a trusted interoperability layer linking fragmented bank ledgers and blockchain networks. Banks expect traditional and blockchain-based payment systems to coexist, but Swift could lose relevance if institutions develop networks that settle transactions directly without its messaging infrastructure. Swift, the backbone of financial messaging, faces a tough question: Will blockchain technology replace the 53-year-old technology that the legacy banking system relies on?