According to Cointelegraph, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan, and an unnamed central bank have joined the beta phase of SWIFT's central bank digital currency (CBDC) interoperability project. The bank messaging platform has also entered a new phase of sandbox testing.
SWIFT's CBDC connector solution has been integrated with the infrastructure of the three central banks for direct testing. The first phase of sandbox testing began in March with over 18 participants, including Royal Bank of Canada, Banque de France, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Monetary Authority of Singapore, HSBC, Deutsche Bundesbank, and NatWest. Over 5,000 transactions were conducted during the 12-week period, and the number of participants is expected to exceed 30 in the next phase.
SWIFT has been involved in several CBDC projects, including a wholesale CBDC project in collaboration with the New York Federal Reserve Bank using a regulated liability network. The platform connects over 11,500 financial institutions worldwide and has an uneasy relationship with CBDCs, as the new technology could potentially compete with it. However, competition can also drive innovation. In August, SWIFT announced that 89% of its transactions are processed within an hour, surpassing the G20's goal of 75% one-hour settlements by 2027. Despite this, only 60% of wholesale payments are concluded within an hour due to regulatory controls, working hours, and batch processing.