UOB and HSBC Complete Live Tokenised Deposit Transactions on Swift’s Ledger
UOB and HSBC have completed live cross-border transactions in Hong Kong dollars using tokenised deposits on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger, making UOB the first Singapore-headquartered bank to execute live transactions on the platform.
UOB announced the milestone on 26 August 2026. The transactions follow Swift’s July announcement that its blockchain-based ledger was ready for initial use, with 17 banks across six continents preparing to pilot live tokenised-deposit payments.
How the transactions worked
According to UOB, payment messages were exchanged between UOB and HSBC through Swift’s ledger. The resulting obligations were recorded as tokenised deposit obligations on UOB’s tokenised-deposit infrastructure and HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service. Swift’s ledger acted as an orchestration layer, matching and netting the obligations between the two banks before final settlement through existing banking systems.
HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service is already live in Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United States and the UAE, and supports CNH, HKD, SGD, EUR, GBP, USD and AED.
UOB said it is preparing to execute Singapore-dollar and U.S.-dollar transactions on Swift’s ledger in September 2026 with additional partner banks. The bank is using the initiative to test how shared-ledger infrastructure can support cross-border and domestic payments, improve liquidity efficiency and potentially enable round-the-clock interbank payment activity.
Compliance significance
The project is a live implementation of tokenised bank deposits rather than a stablecoin or unregulated crypto-payment model. As regulated banks move more payment obligations onto shared-ledger infrastructure, KYC, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, payment transparency and auditability will need to remain effective across both tokenised and conventional settlement rails.
The announcement does not indicate that existing regulatory obligations are being replaced; rather, the participating banks are applying tokenised-deposit technology within established banking and settlement frameworks.
