Citi has completed a landmark trial with Swift to test fiat-to-digital currency settlement workflows, marking a pivotal step in bridging traditional finance with emerging digital asset ecosystems. The initiative, part of Swift’s broader CBDC sandbox programme, explored how digital currencies and tokenised assets could be settled across borders using existing financial infrastructure.
The trial simulated real-world Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) scenarios using Swift’s CBDC connector, enabling transactions between blockchain-based platforms and fiat systems. Citi’s role focused on validating how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and tokenised instruments could be integrated into legacy rails without disruption.
Tony McLaughlin, managing director of emerging payments and business development at Citi, said the trial “shows promise for future cross-border digital currency settlements,” highlighting the importance of interoperability in a fragmented digital asset landscape.
Jonathan Ehrenfeld, head of strategy at Swift, added: “Swift is uniquely positioned to be the secure and trusted single point of access for seamless connection between the tokenised ecosystems and the established global financial community. This collaboration with Citi proves that we can leverage the reach of our existing network while introducing advanced capabilities required to orchestrate fiat-digital currency PvP.”
The trial forms part of Swift’s expanding efforts to future-proof global payments. Over 30 institutions have now engaged with its CBDC sandbox, including central banks from Germany, Singapore, and France. The initiative aligns with a broader push to ensure that digital currencies can coexist with fiat infrastructure in a scalable, secure, and compliant manner.
This momentum was echoed at Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt, where tokenisation dominated the agenda. Swift, the event organiser, announced the integration of a native blockchain ledger into its core infrastructure and placed digital asset interoperability at the heart of its programming. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel declared that tokenisation and the digital euro would “redraw the financial map,” while the European Central Bank confirmed a 2026 rollout for blockchain-based settlement.
