Based on Hyperledger Fabric, the SWIFT trial focused on the use of nostro accounts, or bank accounts held by banks inside other banks. The proof-of-concept envisioned these “many-to-many” bank transfers, specifically examining how the system could meet requirements around governance, security and data privacy as they relate to the nostro reconcilitation process.
According to SWIFTs head of research and development the test provided a window into the strengths - and limits - of migrating such a system to distributed technology. Thus, the report also details the limitations of the transaction capacities current blockchain solutions can support, considering that, at a commercial-scale level, the system in question would need to be able to handle many more channels than the proof-of-concept demonstrated.
Consequently, the test showed that banks could conduct real-time transactions using a distributed ledger, while staying in compliance with reporting requirements.
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