Citi and Swift have completed a trial demonstrating the feasibility of settling payments between fiat and digital currencies using a Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) workflow.
The trial showed how existing Swift infrastructure can be combined with blockchain-based connectors, orchestrators, and smart contracts to support interoperability between traditional financial systems and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) networks.
“These trials with Swift represent a significant leap forward in understanding and developing infrastructure required to support digital currency transactions,”
said Ayesa Latif, Head of FX Products.
“Our collaboration has demonstrated how existing financial systems can be enhanced with blockchain technology to unlock new levels of speed, transparency, and risk reduction in cross-currency settlements.”
Jonathan Ehrenfeld, Head of Strategy at Swift, said:
“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 broader efforts to create scalable and standardised infrastructure for digital asset transactions.
The rising use of digital currencies, including tokenised deposits and stablecoins, is reshaping cross-border payments.
Citi GPS estimates that stablecoin issuance could reach US$1.9 trillion by 2030, with monthly transaction volumes nearing US$1 trillion.
However, settling between fiat currencies and digital assets remains challenging because of differences in how they are held and transferred.
FX messaging standards such as MT30X can identify digital assets but do not support synchronised settlement, a gap this initiative seeks to address.
Citi and Swift developed a messaging standard that tracks the full transaction process from initiation to settlement and reflects the differing requirements of fiat and digital currency transfers.
An escrow mechanism was introduced to manage irreversible blockchain transactions while preserving PvP settlement, and a central orchestrator coordinated the sequencing of messages to ensure synchronisation and finality.
Citi used test USDC tokens from Circle on the Ethereum Sepolia testnet to simulate near-production conditions.
Both organisations will continue refining the model with industry participants to help establish the operational standards required for institutional digital asset settlement.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Declan Sun via Unsplash
