SWIFT moves to next phase of CBDC testing after positive results

According to a statement connected Mar. 9, slope messaging level Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, oregon SWIFT, disclosed that the fiscal instauration witnessed affirmative results related to its aviator trial of linking antithetic cardinal slope integer currencies (CBDCs).

During a 12-week investigating period, SWIFT simulated astir 5,000 transactions betwixt 2 antithetic blockchain networks and existing fiat outgo systems. Over 18 fiscal institutions worldwide participated successful the study, including the Royal Bank of Canada, Banque de France, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Monetary Authority of Singapore, HSBC, Deutsche Bundesbank, NatWest, and more. As told by SWIFT:

"Overall, the results of the sandbox investigating recovered that Swift’s experimental interlinking solution tin conscionable the needs of cardinal and commercialized banks for CBDCs interoperability, ensuring CBDCs tin beryllium successfully utilized successful cross-border payments."

Furthermore, SWIFT said determination was a "strong grade of alignment" betwixt participants arsenic to however CBDCs are apt to relation successful the future. For the adjacent steps, SWIFT plans to tally a 2nd signifier of its CBDC sandbox and make its "CBDC interlinking solution into a beta mentation for payments with enhanced atomicity."

Within the adjacent mates of years, SWIFT expects 24% of cardinal banks to make a CBDC solution. Over 110 cardinal banks astir the satellite are presently investigating the usage cases of CBDCs. Lewis Sun, Global caput of home and emerging payments astatine HSBC, commented:

"Interoperability is cardinal to realising the imaginable of CBDCs to present real-time cross-border payments. While involvement successful CBDCs is growing, truthful is the hazard of fragmentation arsenic a widening scope of technologies and standards is being experimented with."

Payment travel of the SWIFT CBDC connector | Source: SWIFT