Tokenized Deposits to Revolutionize Global Corporate Treasury Operations
Investment bank UBS has partnered with fintech leader Ant International to explore tokenized deposits for real-time cross-border payments and enhanced global liquidity management. Anchored in Singapore, one of the world’s most active hubs for institutional blockchain innovation, this collaboration represents a significant step toward modernizing corporate treasury operations.
The agreement, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding, aims to tackle longstanding inefficiencies in traditional treasury settlement systems. These systems are often limited by cut-off times, fragmented networks, and multicurrency delays, which slow down intra-group fund transfers. By leveraging UBS Digital Cash, tokenized bank deposits can now potentially enable near-instant settlement across jurisdictions, reducing processes that previously took days to just minutes.
Kelvin Li, Global Manager of Platform Technology at Ant International, highlighted the strategic impact, stating, “We share a common belief in the potential of these technologies to transform cross-border payments and look forward to driving greater impact together through UBS’s global expertise and support.”
UBS Digital Cash, first piloted in 2024, is designed as bank-issued digital money for wholesale applications, allowing institutions to manage liquidity with greater efficiency. Young Jin Yee, Country Head of UBS Singapore, emphasized the collaborative advantage, saying, “By combining our expertise in digital assets with Ant’s advanced blockchain technology, we are working together to deliver a real-time, multicurrency payment solution that sets standards for transparency and efficiency.”
For Ant International, the integration offers a programmable settlement layer capable of supporting treasury operations across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. This represents one of the clearest examples of a major payments infrastructure operation adopting tokenized deposits for practical, operational use.
The partnership also reinforces Singapore’s role as a leading hub for institutional tokenization. Following frameworks introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2024, projects such as Project Guardian and Project Orchid have advanced the use of digital assets for both fund tokenization and retail central bank digital currency applications.
This collaboration signals a transformative shift in cross-border treasury management, highlighting the potential of tokenized deposits to reduce friction, increase speed, and enhance global corporate liquidity operations.
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