Briefing
AMINA Bank and Crypto Finance Group, alongside other Swiss-regulated institutions, have successfully completed a landmark pilot leveraging Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) on the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL) platform for interbank fiat settlement. The primary consequence is the establishment of a compliant, systemic framework that bypasses the legacy correspondent banking model, directly addressing the friction and cost associated with traditional cross-border and cross-currency payments. This DLT-driven modernization achieved near-real-time, 24/7 transaction finality using existing commercial bank money, demonstrating a path to immediate capital efficiency without creating a new form of digital currency.
Context
Before this DLT integration, the global interbank payment system was characterized by a multi-day settlement lag (T+2 or longer), high intermediary costs, and significant counterparty risk, particularly in cross-border transfers. This traditional process relies on fragmented, siloed systems and batch processing, creating capital lock-up and inhibiting the ability of corporate treasuries to manage liquidity dynamically. The prevailing challenge was the inability to achieve simultaneous, atomic settlement of value across institutions within a regulated, always-on environment.
Analysis
This adoption fundamentally alters the interbank treasury management and payments system by introducing a shared, immutable settlement layer. The DLT platform acts as a synchronized ledger, replacing the need for sequential message-based transfers and reconciliation. The chain of cause and effect is direct → Banks utilize the GCUL platform to execute payments in commercial bank money (fiat), with Crypto Finance Group acting as the Currency Operator to ensure compliance and transaction rules are met.
This systemic integration moves the process from delayed, high-risk gross settlement to instant, compliant atomic settlement. For the enterprise and its partners, this transition unlocks trapped capital, reduces liquidity risk, and enables the creation of new financial products that depend on real-time value transfer, positioning the participants for a competitive advantage in global finance.
Parameters
- Technology Platform → Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL)
- Key Participants → AMINA Bank, Crypto Finance Group, Swiss-regulated banks
- Settlement Type → Near-real-time, 24/7 Fiat Settlement
- Asset Type → Commercial Bank Money (Wholesale)
- Operational Role → Crypto Finance Group (Currency Operator)
Outlook
The immediate next phase involves onboarding additional institutional clients and expanding the pilot’s scope to live cross-border and point-of-sale applications, validating the model’s scalability beyond the Swiss domestic market. The second-order effect will be increased pressure on traditional correspondent banking networks, forcing them to accelerate their own DLT integration timelines to remain competitive. This successful pilot establishes a critical new industry standard → that the modernization of global payments can be achieved through DLT infrastructure using existing commercial bank money, providing a compliant blueprint for central banks and regulated institutions worldwide.
Verdict
This DLT pilot represents a strategic pivot, proving that systemic, compliant financial modernization is achievable by integrating shared ledger technology directly into the core of commercial bank operations.
