SWIFT is exploring the use of XRP and HBAR to enhance its cross-border payment network. The organization is reportedly testing the integration of Ripple’s XRP and Hedera’s HBAR as part of initiatives to modernize its payment infrastructure, with both cryptocurrencies being considered for their alignment with ISO 20022 financial messaging standards.
SWIFT’s pilot program reportedly targets two key technologies: Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), which leverages XRP as a bridge currency for faster transfers, and Hedera’s hashgraph consensus mechanism, recognized for its high throughput and energy efficiency.
For context, traditional SWIFT transfers can take 1–5 business days and cost between $10 and $50 per transaction, while XRP transactions typically settle in 3–5 seconds at a cost of around $0.0002. Hedera, on the other hand, can handle up to 10,000 transactions per second.
This development follows Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s projection at the XRP Ledger Apex 2025 event in Singapore, where he suggested that the XRP Ledger could capture 14% of SWIFT’s global liquidity within the next five years, stating:
“SWIFT today has two components—messaging and liquidity. Liquidity is owned by banks. I think less about the messaging and more about liquidity. If you’re driving all the liquidity, it’s good for XRP. So, in five years, I’d say 14%.”
The news comes alongside another significant update from Ripple: the company revealed that it will start distributing its RLUSD stablecoin in Japan by the first quarter of next year.
