A Swiss industry initiative developing a Swiss franc-denominated stablecoin has entered live testing, with financial market infrastructure operator SIX and payment app TWINT joining the project on Tuesday, 8 September.

The pilot is based on CHFD, a stablecoin designed to maintain a one-to-one peg with the Swiss franc, which has been technically live in the project’s sandbox since the end of June. The controlled live environment will allow the nine participating companies to test potential applications under restricted user and transaction limits.

UBS, PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, SIX, TWINT and Swiss Stablecoin AG are taking part in the testing phase. The initiative was launched in April by the original banking participants and has since expanded with the addition of SIX and TWINT.

The partners will test established applications including automated transactions between financial institutions and tokenised settlement of digital assets. The project will run through the end of 2026 and is intended to establish where a Swiss franc stablecoin could provide practical value, as well as identify technical, operational and regulatory requirements for any future development.

Programmable payments are a particular focus of the testing programme. According to the project statement, participants will examine whether programmable transactions could reduce fraud risks on online marketplaces, support fairer access to event tickets and improve the efficiency of public payments.

The initiative is being conducted on the CHF stablecoin platform operated by CHFD Infrastruktur AG, a subsidiary of Swiss Stablecoin AG. CHFD is intended to combine the stability of a currency-pegged digital asset with blockchain-based functionality, including faster and potentially automated transactions.

The project comes as banks and financial institutions assess how stablecoins and other blockchain-based assets could affect payments and settlement. Stablecoins are digital assets generally designed to maintain a fixed value against a traditional currency, with dollar-denominated tokens accounting for much of the existing market.

The Swiss pilot does not represent a decision to launch a public Swiss franc stablecoin. The project statement said the sandbox has an open outcome, with its purpose being to gather practical experience before any decision on potential future development.

SIX’s participation adds expertise in financial market infrastructure, while TWINT brings experience in digital payments. Their involvement broadens the initiative beyond the banks that established the project and gives the testing programme additional coverage across Switzerland’s financial and payments infrastructure.

The partners are expected to publish an overview of their findings after the initiative concludes. The results will help determine whether the technology can meet the practical requirements for wider use and what further steps would be required.

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