DBS and Citi complete weekend USD payment via Swift’s Digital Ledger using tokenized deposits
DBS and Citi have successfully completed a cross-border payment test using Swift’s blockchain ledger and tokenized deposits. This development aims to enable 24/7 liquidity management, addressing the delays inherent in traditional weekend banking.
Why it matters
The successful test signals a shift toward real-time global settlement, potentially disrupting traditional banking infrastructure and improving capital efficiency for corporations.
It is the second confirmed live transaction on Swift's blockchain ledger, following HSBC and Standard Chartered's first live cross-border transfer in August . The back-to-back tests come as Swift's $1.5 quadrillion network faces pressure from stablecoins and tokenized deposits that settle around the clock, raising the question of whether the 53-year-old messaging network can adapt fast enough to remain relevant. Swift rolled out its blockchain ledger in July with 17 banks.
Cross-border payments between Asia and the US routinely stall over weekends. A corporate treasurer moving liquidity from Singapore to New York on a Friday has to wait until the following Monday at the earliest. For companies running 24/7 digital operations, that gap costs money in delayed supplier payments and frozen working capital, DBS said in its statement.
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