Swift works with thousands of institutions in over 200 countries, with banks connected to its messaging network.
Despite handling trillions of dollars in transactions, Swift has come under scrutiny by web3 for its slow pace at modernizing and catching up to speedier payment standards afforded by crypto.
As financial technology advances with blockchain and distributed ledger technology, questions are raised on whether Swift will stick to itself and upgrade the best it can, or partner with payment ledgers like Ripple’s XRP Ledger?
Swift itself doesn’t move money but sends payment messages between financial institutions to get things rolling. The settlement of funds depends on banks, foreign exchange processes, and compliance checks. This is a multi-layered approach that is prone to delays, often making cross-border payments take 2 to 5 business days.
In contrast, blockchain networks like Ripple’s XRP Ledger, Stellar, and Hedera Hashgraph can settle transactions in a seconds, with low fees and high throughput.
Even with its modernization efforts and goals to reduce payment times and fees, Swift is not able to match the native settlement speeds of blockchain networks. Reliance on legacy banking infrastructure makes instant, cross-border low-cost payments a frustrating experience within Swift’s existing framework.
To compete with blockchains like the XRP Ledger, Stellar, or even Hedera and Algorand, Swift would need to overhaul its entire infrastructure, removing intermediaries and enabling real-time settlement across borders.
A shift like that would challenge the core business models of correspondent banks, which can make profits from fees.
Moreover, Swift’s model of governance, made up of international banks, makes fast innovation implementations difficult. Catching up to blockchain transaction speeds is unlikely without fundamentally changing how Swift works.
Rather than competing head-on, Swift could potentially adopt blockchain technology or partner with payment networks like Ripple. Ripple works with global banks like SBI Holdings, BVNK, and more, offering real-time settlements, custody services, and stablecoin alternatives through the XRP Ledger and enterprise solutions like Ripple Payments.
Ripple’s technology is designed to integrate with existing banking infrastructures, providing a bridge between traditional finance and Web3. If Swift were to integrate Ripple’s payment solutions, it could retain a global network while delivering speed and cost-efficiency that blockchains can offer.
Speaking on the possibilities, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen believes Ripple could possibly become a payment correspondent as a settlement partner, saying, “Swift only deals with the data. They have a corresponding banking partner that deals with the value.”
— ALLINCRYPTO (@RealAllinCrypto) September 22, 2025
What if SWIFT updated to compete with blockchain transaction speeds? Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen tackles an important question on $XRP:"SWIFT only deals with the data. They have a corresponding banking partner that deals with the value."
[Source: @Google] pic.twitter.com/4JzPYIY5m9
Some of Ripple’s existing partnerships, including with institutions like Santander and SBI Holdings, highlight how its technology can coexist with traditional financial solutions, with SBI Holdings set to integrate RLUSD in 2026. For Swift, which has a lot of reach but not so much speed, Ripple can provide alternative paths towards innovation.
The post Can Swift Compete with Blockchains, or Will It Adopt Crypto? first appeared on AllinCrypto.
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