Citi has executed live USD transactions on Swift’s shared ledger, becoming the first US bank to process native payments on the infrastructure as part of a multi‑bank pilot running from July to December 2026.
The bank said the milestone demonstrates how tokenised deposits and distributed ledger technology can support always‑on, cross‑border payments while maintaining settlement through existing correspondent banking channels.
The first transactions were completed with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) in the Middle East and OCBC in Southeast Asia. Citi said the work validated how shared ledger infrastructure can coordinate payment commitments between banks, enabling faster beneficiary credit and uninterrupted processing outside traditional cut‑off windows.
The pilot forms part of Citi Services’ strategy to build interoperable, cross‑currency digital payment capabilities across its institutional franchise. The bank highlighted its existing digital‑asset stack — including 24/7 USD Clearing, which supports more than 300 banks globally, and Citi Token Services, which has processed around $1bn in transactions — as foundations for future multi‑bank digital money networks.
Debopama Sen, head of payments within Citi’s Services business, said: “We are proud to be a leader in this pivotal initiative, working alongside Swift and our esteemed bank collaborators to continue to transform the landscape of always‑on payments, settlements and liquidity.”
FAB said the bilateral transaction with Citi validated the end‑to‑end interaction between Swift’s existing payment messaging, tokenised deposits and distributed ledger infrastructure. The bank said the pilot demonstrates how regulated commercial bank money can support faster, programmable and 24/7 cross‑border payments.
OCBC said: “Our successful live pilot transactions with Citi marks an important step towards enabling bank‑issued digital money to move efficiently and securely across borders.”
DBS and UOB will join the pilot later in September, expanding the initiative across Asia. UOB said its upcoming USD transaction with Citi on Swift’s ledger underscores “the power of industry collaboration in building the next generation of payment infrastructure.”
Citi said the work shows the viability of shared ledger technology for real‑time, multi‑bank, cross‑border payments, laying the groundwork for future interoperability between tokenised money networks and traditional settlement rails.
