Singapore‑based DBS Group and U.S. bank Citi reported that they completed a tokenized cross‑border deposit between Singapore and the United States on Saturday. The transaction was processed through Swift’s Digital Ledger, a blockchain‑based platform that enables deposits to be tokenised and settled outside normal banking hours.
According to DBS, the deposit was finalised in minutes, a marked improvement over the industry norm of up to two business days for conventional cross‑border transfers. The banks said the speed demonstrates how traditional financial institutions are testing blockchain rails to increase efficiency while keeping funds within regulated banking channels.
The weekend settlement follows earlier pilots on Swift’s ledger. In August, Standard Chartered and HSBC executed the first tokenised cross‑border payment on the platform. Swift announced in July that its blockchain ledger was ready for initial use and that a pilot involving 17 major banks – including Citi, DBS, HSBC, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ and Standard Chartered – would test tokenised payments.
Citi is also part of a separate initiative to launch a tokenised deposit network operated by The Clearing House. The network is slated for rollout in the first half of 2027, according to CEO David Watson, who told the Wall Street Journal that the effort aims to create a U.S.‑based alternative for on‑chain deposit settlement.
In November 2025, DBS and JPMorgan disclosed plans to develop a joint tokenisation framework that would allow on‑chain transfers between their respective deposit‑token ecosystems, seeking to set an industry standard for cross‑bank payments.
The recent weekend settlement underscores growing interest among legacy banks in leveraging blockchain technology to streamline international payments, reduce settlement latency and maintain regulatory oversight of tokenised assets.
