SWIFT launches a transparent cross-border payment framework in response to Ripple: Opportunities and challenges for XRP amid traditional financial transformation

The global cross-border payments market is undergoing a silent revolution. According to the latest data, approximately 5 trillion USD of funds are locked in cross-border accounts by banks due to the correspondent banking model, which cannot be used for lending or investment, leading to significant capital inefficiency.

By the end of January 2026, SWIFT announced the launch of a new global payment scheme aimed at making cross-border transfers for consumers and small businesses as fast and predictable as domestic payments. This scheme will be rolled out in phases, requiring participating banks to disclose fees and exchange rates in advance, ensure full amount arrival, and provide end-to-end payment tracking. This move is widely interpreted by the market as a direct response of traditional financial systems to blockchain payment solutions like Ripple. For years, Ripple has criticized the three major pain points of traditional cross-border payments: opaque fees, slow and unpredictable speeds, and low bank capital efficiency.

Industry Changes

SWIFT’s challenges are not only from Ripple. In the wave of fintech innovation, companies like Wise have launched low-cost instant payment services, with Wise’s remittance volume reaching 114.5 billion USD from April to September 2025 alone.

Stablecoins utilizing blockchain technology are also gradually gaining popularity and are seen as key to achieving low-cost international remittances and instant settlement. The US leads in issuing stablecoins, with its legal framework gradually improving.

Currently, SWIFT connects over 11,000 financial institutions across more than 200 countries and regions worldwide, processing trillions of dollars in transactions daily. However, the system has long been criticized for slow processing speeds and opaque fees.

SWIFT’s Transformation Path

SWIFT is collaborating with 32 banks across 17 countries and regions to build a new mechanism supporting instant small-value remittances. This real-time remittance system is expected to be launched as early as 2026, with institutions such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation participating.

To achieve this, each bank will independently research and implement specific plans. For banks that previously received funds outside of business hours and needed to complete crediting the next day, SWIFT will urge them to realize instant crediting.

The maximum amount for instant settlement remittances has not yet been finalized, but the current discussion centers around a limit of 10,000 USD. If realized, it will significantly reduce the difficulty for individuals and SMEs to complete overseas remittances or receive foreign funds before the payment deadline.

Ripple’s Solution

Unlike SWIFT, Ripple’s solution directly targets the underlying settlement mechanism of cross-border payments. Ripple’s approach uses XRP as a bridge currency, eliminating the need for banks to pre-deposit large amounts of foreign currency in each country. For example, if a Japanese bank wants to remit to Mexico, it can first convert yen to XRP (in just seconds), then send XRP to Mexico (seconds), and finally convert XRP into Mexican pesos (seconds). The entire process can be completed within 1 minute without pre-funding large peso accounts.

Recently, Ripple has partnered with banks in regions such as Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and Japan to test this blockchain-based payment track and regulated stablecoin model in controlled environments. These pilot projects aim to reduce capital costs for specific transaction channels rather than directly replacing SWIFT.

Technical Roadmap Comparison

SWIFT is actively testing blockchain technology applications, conducting multiple interoperability experiments, integrating blockchain with traditional banking systems. This includes tokenized bond settlement with BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Société Générale-FORGE. SWIFT is now working with over 30 banks to develop a blockchain-based shared ledger. This ledger will enable 24/7 real-time cross-border payments and inter-institutional settlement coordination.

Ripple’s XRP Ledger has a clear technical advantage: its consensus mechanism can confirm transactions within 3 to 5 seconds, far faster than the days-long settlement times of traditional banking systems. The XRP Ledger is also compatible with the ISO 20022 standard, which is crucial because SWIFT requires all members to migrate to this standard by November 2025.

Market Impact and XRP Outlook

According to Gate data, as of January 30, 2026, the price of Ripple (XRP) is 1.75 USD, with a 24-hour trading volume of 401.73 million USD, a market capitalization of 106.73 billion USD, and a market share of 5.97%.

XRP’s price has changed by -6.71% in the past 24 hours and -9.62% over the past 7 days. Historical data shows XRP’s all-time high at 3.65 USD and its all-time low at 0.002686 USD.

From a technical analysis perspective, XRP is currently at a critical juncture. Its Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains at 37, in the bearish zone, indicating increasing bearish momentum. XRP is still below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 2.19 USD, the 100-day EMA at 2.37 USD, and the 200-day EMA at 2.44 USD, all trending downward, confirming a short- to medium-term bearish outlook.

Industry analysts have differing predictions for XRP’s 2026 price. Conservative forecasts suggest an average price around 1.75 USD, with a range between a low of 0.8935 USD and a high of 2.57 USD. More optimistic analyses, based on SWIFT reforms increasing blockchain acceptance and Ripple’s progress in institutional adoption, believe XRP could break new highs above 4.00 USD by the end of the year. By 2031, XRP’s price forecast could rise to 4.74 USD, representing a potential return of +128.00% compared to current levels.

Regardless of the path chosen, the gears of global capital flow are quietly accelerating. SWIFT has committed to launching a minimum viable product of its new payment scheme in the first half of 2026, with over 40 banks already onboard. The walls of traditional finance are beginning to crack, and blockchain technology is seeping through these cracks. The boundary between the banking system and distributed ledgers is becoming less distinct, ultimately benefiting ordinary users who have suffered from opaque fees and long waits in cross-border payments.