By Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) -Global financial messaging network SWIFT and more than 30 global banks announced on Monday they were now working “at pace” on making cross-border payments instantaneous and on a system capable of handling the various new forms of digital money.

SWIFT, a key part of the world’s financial architecture, said the institutions were collaborating on a blockchain-based “shared digital ledger” they see as vital for modernising international bank transactions.

The timeline is yet to be defined, but it will initially focus on enabling real-time 24/7 cross-border payments, which should also make the process cheaper given it can currently take days.

Belgium-based SWIFT also plans to build on recent pilot projects to make its systems “interoperable” with new ones now

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