DBS and Citi Deliver Instant Cross-Border Payments over Weekend

DBS Group Holdings and Citigroup have successfully completed a cross-border US dollar payment in minutes, bypassing the usual weekend delay of up to two business days. This milestone transaction used tokenized deposits on Swift's Digital Ledger.

The test, which took place on September 5 between Singapore and New York, demonstrates that always-on cross-border payments are already a reality.

Citi's head of services for Asia South, Mridula Iyer, highlighted the significance of this achievement by stating 'Processing a live transaction over a weekend demonstrates that always-on cross-border payments are already a reality.'

DBS predicted that Asia's outbound cross-border payments could reach $24 trillion by 2033, up from $13.5 trillion in 2025.