Ant and HSBC Team on Cross-Border Tokenized Deposit Transfers

Ant International, HSBC and Swift say they have tested a new cross-border payment solution.

The initiative involved the cross-border transfer of tokenized deposits using ISO 20022 messaging standards, with the help of Swift’s global messaging network, HSBC’s tokenized deposit service and Ant’s blockchain technology, according to a Thursday (Dec. 11) news release.

The three groups said their proof of concept marks a milestone in their efforts to help businesses enjoy the benefits of tokenization for “enhanced liquidity, programmable finance, and 24/7 real-time settlement,” per the release.

“We are excited to demonstrate how ISO 20022 data formats, when combined with new technologies like blockchain, bring significant value to the entire community,” said Shirish Wadivkar, global head of payments and cash management for Swift.

“This integration not only speeds up payment processing but also enhances AML and sanctions screening. As the financial ecosystem evolves, we remain committed to shaping a future of seamless global interoperability, powered by ISO 20022’s structured data and aligned with financial institutions’ need for trust, efficiency, and regulatory consistency.”

The release adds that integrating with Swift’s network bolsters the security and compliance of Ant International’s blockchain-based solution, which extends HSBC’s anti-money laundering and anti-fraud capabilities and infrastructure into the tokenized deposit service.

This sets the stage for digital money issuers to leverage ISO 20022 and the Swift network, “enabling easier adoption by banks and external customers during its future rollout and allowing further interoperability between digital money and traditional fiat money,” the release added.

Swift retired its MT messaging standard for cross-border payments last month, replacing it with the XML-based ISO 20022 format.

“The transition marks one of the most consequential data migrations in modern financial plumbing, less a flip of a switch than a shift in the foundational language used to move trillions of dollars daily across borders,” PYMNTS wrote ahead of the shift.

Under the MT standard, key components of a payment, like remittance information or beneficiary identifiers, were funneled into unstructured fields, leaving banks and corporates to decipher meaning from loosely formatted strings.

“ISO 20022, by contrast, enforces a strict schema,” PYMNTS added. “Every element has a defined place and purpose, enabling automated screening, straight-through processing and harmonized reporting.”

In a separate report, PYMNTS noted a key question for CFOs as this shift is happening: “Are our banks and systems actually sending and receiving the data ISO 20022 makes possible?”

Because although the rails may support it, the report said, many institutions still truncate or map information into legacy formats unless clients explicitly require full fidelity.