36 of 50+ Banks Partner with Ripple on SWIFT's List
City of London banker Lord Belgrave revealed that strategy meetings with major banks discussed Ripple and XRP Ledger as powering the underlying tech for cross-border payments of the next generation.
Key Takeaway
SWIFT's blockchain pivot and Ripple partnerships suggest XRP may power cross-border banking infrastructure.
Crypto commentator Pumpius claims SWIFT could be secretly using XRP Ledger at the backend for its new retail cross-border payments system. He pointed out that 36 of the 50-plus banks on SWIFT's list already partner with Ripple. Pumpius said this architecture has been quietly building underneath the surface for years.
City of London banker Lord Belgrave added weight to the theory after revealing that strategy meetings with major banks discussed Ripple and XRP Ledger as powering the underlying tech for cross-border payments of the next generation. SWIFT's blockchain ledger is being developed with input from over 30 global banks and is designed to complement SWIFT's existing ISO 20022 messaging standard.
Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz made the case for why banks will choose XRP over stablecoins for global settlements. Stablecoins are stable to one currency and futile for global deals across borders, Schwartz said. They can also be frozen or seized via court orders and politics. XRP offers real upside potential through price growth, lightning-fast atomic settlement, and near-zero fees. The token is decentralized and provides high scalability and energy efficiency with built-in escrow functionality.
The payment giant successfully completed tokenized bond settlement trials that bridged blockchain with traditional finance. Those trials seamlessly integrated stablecoins and ISO 20022 messaging into institutional workflows. XRP Ledger processed approximately 1.8 million transactions daily in 2025, with monthly totals surpassing 70 million transactions.
This article was written based on reporting from Bitcoinist.
