Swift reported this week that half of the cross-border payments on its network now reach the recipient institution within 40 seconds, while 75% of transfers arrive in under 10 minutes. The financial messaging cooperative presented its progress in the “Spotlight on Speed” report, emphasizing that these improvements place the industry ahead of the G20’s target of one-hour end-to-end interbank processing by 2027.
Report highlights progress and bottlenecks
Despite these speed gains, Swift acknowledged that the so-called “last mile”—the period after funds reach the receiving bank but before they are credited to the beneficiary’s account—remains a challenge. The report found that this stage accounts for about 80% of the average total processing time. Median last-mile processing times are close to one hour in around one-third of the 40 surveyed markets, with notable differences between countries and corridors.
According to Swift, “Our analysis shows that, across key markets, last-mile processing remains the largest component of total cross-border payment journey time, often driven by domestic clearing and crediting times that remain inconsistent globally.”
To address these delays, Swift recommended broader adoption of one-leg-out models, which link international messaging directly with domestic instant payment systems. This approach is designed to minimize bottlenecks that typically occur once funds enter a local banking infrastructure.
| Payment Rail | Speed to Recipient Bank | Last-Mile Processing | Overall Speed (to beneficiary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swift (Traditional) | 50% in 40 seconds | Median ~1 hour (in 1/3 of cases) | Varies, typically minutes to hours |
| XRP Ledger | 3–5 seconds (on-ledger settlement) | Seconds to a few minutes (via ODL) | Seconds to a few minutes |
XRP Ledger community response
Swift’s announcement prompted a swift reaction from the digital assets community. Digital Asset Investor, a prominent voice in the sector, responded publicly to Swift’s report, writing, “I prefer 3-4 seconds. XRP.” The message referred to the typical settlement time on the XRP Ledger, the decentralized blockchain developed by Ripple Labs.
The XRP Ledger is known for processing transactions and reaching finality within roughly 3–5 seconds under normal network conditions. The network supports Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution, which utilizes XRP as a bridge asset, enabling real-time currency conversion and settlement without requiring pre-funded local currency accounts.
Mini dictionary: On-Demand Liquidity (ODL): A Ripple product that uses XRP to facilitate instant cross-border payments by converting and settling transactions in seconds without pre-funded accounts, streamlining international money transfers for financial institutions.
Digital Asset Investor highlighted the core advantage offered by XRP’s settlement time, noting that the difference between seconds and several minutes can be significant depending on the use case and payment corridor.
However, industry analysts have pointed out that Swift and XRP are not measuring identical stages in the transaction process. While Swift’s figure measures the speed to the recipient financial institution, the last-mile delays—often handled by local clearing systems—add further wait time before funds are available to the end user. In the XRP model, the cited 3-4 second window refers specifically to blockchain settlement, but full transaction completion can vary based on local payouts and compliance procedures.
Traditional interbank systems continue to handle the majority of global payment volume, largely due to established compliance standards and deep banking integration. Blockchain solutions like XRP offer reduced pre-funding requirements and rapid asset transfer, but the real-world user experience remains highly dependent on integration with legacy financial rails.
