Swift under Pérez-Tasso: Revolutionary blockchain news from the financial giant

Recent blockchain news about Swift under the leadership of CEO Javier Pérez-Tasso marks a turning point in the traditional financial world. In 2025, the banking communication company announced that it is working with more than 30 financial institutions on its own blockchain-based ledger. This project could facilitate 24/7 cross-border payments and make them significantly more efficient — a move that surprised the industry and heightened awareness of a fundamental technological shift.

From banking facility to blockchain innovator

Swift has been a cornerstone of the international financial infrastructure for more than five decades. Daily, the institution, formally known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, processes trillions of dollars in transactions between banks. Its system forms the essential backbone of international transfers and securities settlement.

When Pérez-Tasso took over as CEO in 2019, it was less obvious that this traditional financial institution would transform into a blockchain player. Yet, Swift had been experimenting much earlier: since 2017, the company has been exploring distributed ledger technology. A pivotal moment came in 2022 when Swift launched a pilot program with data provider Chainlink. This initiative connected global banks with multiple public and private blockchain networks via Swift’s existing infrastructure — a hybrid approach that prepared for future integration.

Pérez-Tasso’s visionary leadership at Swift

The 2025 announcement proved to be the next step in a well-thought-out strategy. It demonstrates that large financial actors cannot remain stagnant; they must act quickly, stay agile, and adapt to emerging technologies. For Pérez-Tasso, this approach aligns seamlessly with his philosophy: taking bold initiatives to stay ahead in the competition.

When Pérez-Tasso was appointed, the then Swift chairman Yawar Shah expressed his expectation: Pérez-Tasso “will ensure that Swift can continue its tradition of excellence and innovation for the benefit of the global financial community, while also enabling the acceleration of its approved strategy.” This prospect has been fully realized by the facts.

24/7 cross-border payments: The future of financial technology

“Blockchain disintermediation” indeed threatens the traditional financial world. Swift’s step to develop its own blockchain-based solution demonstrates insight into this reality. Instead of fighting this technology, Pérez-Tasso embraced it as a means to carry Swift’s core mission — reliably processing financial transactions — into a new era.

This business model underscores an essential leadership lesson: organizations must be willing to constantly reinvent themselves without abandoning their core values. A financial giant with a fifty-year legacy, now developing its own blockchain technology, proves that under Pérez-Tasso’s leadership, Swift is not only evolving but continuously innovating. This news illustrates why Pérez-Tasso ranks among the most influential figures in the fintech world — he is transforming an institution long seen as stagnant into a pioneer of financial technology.