DBS and Citi Tokenise First Weekend Cross-Border Payment

DBS and Citi have successfully completed the first weekend cross-border US dollar payment between Singapore and New York. The transaction used tokenised deposits on Swift's blockchain-based ledger, settling in minutes.

The funds were transferred through Citi's New York office on September 5, taking only minutes to clear, whereas traditional cross-border dollar transfers can take up to two business days when weekends and time zones intervene.

This achievement demonstrates that always-on cross-border payments are already a reality, according to Mridula Iyer, Citi's head of services for Asia South. Tokenised deposits are claims on commercial-bank money recorded on a shared ledger, allowing transfers at any hour and redemption through the issuing bank.