Rumors suggesting that global financial messaging giant SWIFT will support the XRP token, created by Ripple, have been firmly denied by Tom Zschach, the network’s former Chief Innovation Officer. Addressing the speculation directly in a post on X, Zschach issued a concise but categorical response to the claims that have stirred up excitement within the crypto community.
Direct response to the allegations
This week, several XRP-focused social media accounts circulated claims that SWIFT might shift away from developing its own digital currency infrastructure in favor of adopting widely used public tokens like XRP. The reports suggested that, instead of competing with platforms like Ripple, SWIFT would choose to collaborate with them.
Responding to talk that SWIFT was planning to partner with XRP, Tom Zschach stated simply, “Not going to happen.”
Zschach, who served as SWIFT’s Head of Innovation for six years and played a significant role in charting the company’s digital asset strategies, brings firsthand insight into the organization’s direction. SWIFT is widely recognized as the backbone of international banking communication and payment instruction transmission.
Ongoing criticism of Ripple and XRP
In the past, Zschach has also issued critical comments about Ripple and the XRP token. He has previously questioned both the use cases for XRP and its claims to decentralization, at one point even likening Ripple’s technology to a fax machine in the internet age—a comparison that gained attention among industry insiders.
The former SWIFT executive has argued that Ripple’s hard-fought legal victory over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not, by itself, prove corporate resilience. In this light, his recent dismissal of the SWIFT/XRP partnership rumors is consistent with his skeptical stance from previous statements.
Track record in traditional finance
Throughout his career, Zschach has held roles at major financial institutions including Bank of America, Barclays, and Lehman Brothers. Since departing SWIFT, he has joined a team working on next-generation infrastructure projects, collaborating with researchers connected to Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge universities.
No official documents or concrete evidence have been presented in support of the recent claims circulating online. Zschach’s straightforward rebuttal further indicates that, for now, expectations about SWIFT offering native support for XRP remain unsupported by facts.
