Latin America is one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions. Digital finance is accelerating, instant payment systems have evolved expectations, and businesses of every size are looking beyond national borders for growth. Yet sending money across those borders can at times feel slower, less transparent and less predictable than making a domestic payment.
That gap matters. Cross-border payments support trade, investment, tourism, remittances, and operations of companies with global supply chains. When a payment is delayed, its cost is unclear or its status is difficult to track, the impact is felt by real businesses and people. For smaller firms in particular, uncertainty can affect cash flow, supplier relationships and the confidence to enter new markets.
Improving today’s payment experience
Swift is addressing this challenge on two parallel fronts. The first is the Swift payments scheme, a common set of rules designed to make cross-border payments nearly as seamless as domestic ones. It builds on the trusted infrastructure banks already use, aligning participants around delivering a better end user experience: certainty of cost, full-value delivery, the fastest possible speeds – including instant settlement where possible – and end-to-end traceability when making international transfers.
The scheme went live in June 2026, moving from design to delivery with early-adopter banks. The scheme is already live in Brazil and Mexico, with active payment corridors to the United States. Financial institutions across Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, and other markets are advancing their implementation efforts, supporting the scheme’s continued expansion, and reinforcing its growing presence across Latin America and the Caribbean.
This work supports the G20 ambitions for faster, more transparent and more accessible cross-border payments. Today, 75% of payments travelling over Swift reach the beneficiary financial institution within 10 minutes, and often in seconds, but 80% of a transaction’s average journey is spent in the ‘last mile’: the time between a payment arriving at the end institution and it being credited to the customer account. The scheme framework will significantly enhance that final, domestic part of a transaction’s journey, and help convert to better customer outcomes.
“For Latin America and the Caribbean, the real measure of progress is what customers experience,” says Fedra Ware, Head of Latin America and the Caribbean at Swift. “Greater certainty on cost and timing, full traceability and faster access to funds can help businesses manage cash flow with confidence, support trade and make it easier for individuals and firms of every size to transact across borders.”
Building the infrastructure for tomorrow
At the same time, Swift is building for a future in which money and assets increasingly exist and interact in digital, tokenized forms. Its blockchain-based ledger moved from concept to activation in just nine months and went live in July 2026, beginning with the use case of 24/7 cross-border payments with tokenized deposits. 11 of the 17 early-adopter banks have already completed initial transactions across seven markets.
The ledger is designed as a secure orchestration layer. It connects banks’ own ledgers with existing settlement systems, maintains a shared view of interbank obligations and coordinates activity without positioning Swift as the settlement counterparty. This approach allows financial institutions to explore the benefits of tokenization – speed, programmability and around-the-clock availability – while retaining the compliance, risk and control standards on which regulated finance depends.
Bringing it all together at Sibos 2026
For Latin America, that combination is especially important. The region does not need to choose between improving established payment rails and embracing new models. It can do both. More consistent payments today can help exporters receive funds sooner, give importers clearer information on costs and timing, support remittance providers with greater predictability and help banks serve customers across high-growth corridors. In parallel, digital infrastructure can create foundations for future innovation in areas like programmable money and agentic commerce.
Progress at this scale is not delivered by one technology or even one institution. It depends on banks, market infrastructures, regulators, technology providers and customers agreeing together on practical ways to move forward. That is why Sibos 2026 in Miami is so significant.
Miami is a natural gateway between Latin America, North America and the wider world. Bringing Sibos there offers the region’s financial community the opportunity to actively shape the next phase of cross-border payments.
For Latin American institutions, the value of attending is practical. It is a chance to compare approaches with peers, identify potential partners, understand what readiness requires, engage directly with global decision-makers and ensure the region’s needs are reflected as new models scale.
“Sibos in Miami is bringing the global community together at a gateway to Latin America, giving regional institutions a platform to learn from peers, build new partnerships and help shape solutions that work across markets,” Ware says. “I want participants to leave with a
clear sense that progress is being delivered now, and that Latin America has an important role in delivering it.”
Latin America has the innovative foundations, market demand and institutional expertise to help define the future of global payments. Swift’s payments scheme and blockchain-based ledger are moving that future from vision to implementation. In Miami, the regional and global community will come together to accelerate the journey and help ensure that better cross-border payments deliver meaningful benefits for businesses and people throughout the region and beyond.
