XRP News Today: SWIFT's Trust vs. XRP's Promise: The Battle for Institutional Confidence

SWIFT’s Chief Innovation Officer, Tom Zschach, has publicly questioned whether Ripple’s XRP and its associated technology are prepared to meet the stringent standards required by global banking institutions for cross-border transactions. His remarks, shared on LinkedIn, have reignited discussions about the viability of XRP as an alternative to SWIFT’s established messaging system. Zschach expressed skepticism about the readiness of XRP for widespread adoption in the banking sector, emphasizing concerns about legal enforceability and institutional trust. “The harder question is whether banks will ever be comfortable outsourcing settlement finality to a token that isn’t a deposit, isn’t regulated money, and doesn’t sit on their balance sheet,” he stated. He further noted that liquidity is one thing, but legal enforceability is another, highlighting the challenges of using an external token for settlement purposes.

Zschach expanded on the broader implications of blockchain technology in financial services, arguing that the debate over decentralization often overshadows the essential issue of institutional risk management. He likened open blockchains to a “fast engine with no cockpit,” stressing that they remain incomplete for institutional use without legal frameworks, privacy protections, and regulatory compliance. According to Zschach, the absence of a “trust layer” is a critical factor in why banks continue to rely on SWIFT. He noted that SWIFT, as a cooperative, does not issue assets, compete with its members, or tilt economic advantages toward any institution. “Blockchains like Ethereum are absolutely part of the solution, but neutrality in markets also requires governance, regulation, and enforceability,” he wrote. “Code and validators alone don’t resolve billion-dollar disputes. SWIFT has been doing that for decades.”

The comments from SWIFT come as Ripple continues to navigate the aftermath of its long-running legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP sold on exchanges did not qualify as securities, although some institutional sales did. This mixed ruling provided Ripple with some breathing room but did not fully resolve the legal uncertainty surrounding the token. The case, which spanned over four years, ended in August 2025 when both parties dropped their appeals. Ripple’s deputy general counsel, Deborah McCrimmon, credited the XRP community for its role in the legal proceedings, noting that the unpaid research conducted by XRP holders was invaluable to the defense strategy.

Despite the resolution of the SEC case, challenges remain for XRP’s adoption in the institutional space. Zschach’s remarks highlight a broader concern that many banks may prefer to settle transactions using instruments they issue and trust, rather than relying on external assets like XRP. He suggested that if tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins gain traction, there would be little incentive for banks to use external tokens. “Banks may see little reason to pay a ‘toll’ to an external asset like XRP when they can settle in instruments they already issue and trust,” Zschach stated. This perspective underscores the difficulty Ripple faces in convincing traditional financial institutions to adopt a new settlement mechanism.

SWIFT has also been exploring blockchain-based technologies as part of its efforts to modernize cross-border payments. In August 2025, the organization launched trials using Ripple’s XRP Ledger and Hedera Hashgraph to assess their compatibility with traditional banking systems. At the heart of these trials is ISO 20022, a new global messaging standard set to become mandatory for financial institutions in November 2025. These tests reflect a broader industry movement toward integrating blockchain into existing financial infrastructure, although the ultimate success of XRP in this context remains uncertain.

Ripple continues to promote the XRP Ledger as a cost-effective and efficient settlement layer for financial institutions, emphasizing its fast transaction speeds, low costs, and built-in compliance tools. However, as Zschach’s comments suggest, institutional adoption hinges on more than just technical performance—it requires a level of trust and regulatory alignment that many traditional financial players are not yet prepared to accept. Whether XRP will gain sufficient traction in the institutional market remains an open question, but the ongoing dialogue between Ripple and SWIFT indicates that the industry is not entirely dismissive of the technology.