DBS and Citi have partnered to enable instant, 24/7 cross border USD payments using tokenised deposits, proving out the capability with the first successful weekend USD payment between Singapore and the United States. The transaction, completed between DBS and Citi’s New York office on September 5, 2026, ran on tokenised deposits via the Swift Digital Ledger.
The payment took minutes, a sharp improvement over the industry norm of up to two business days for cross border transactions, and it did away with the usual delays caused by time zone gaps and weekend banking hours. For companies in round the clock, borderless industries like e commerce and digital services, that means faster, more certain access to cash for suppliers and customers, while corporate treasurers gain the ability to move liquidity across entities and markets on short notice as conditions shift.
The move comes as institutions look for smarter ways to manage liquidity and foreign exchange risk amid market volatility and expansion into new markets. DBS’s New Realities, New Possibilities report found that 50% of finance leaders are already exploring blockchain powered capabilities as part of their liquidity and FX management toolkit. It also responds to rising demand for cross border transactions in Asia, where outbound volumes are projected to reach $24 trillion by 2033, almost double 2025’s $13.5 trillion.
Rachel Chew, Chief Operating Officer and Co Head of Digital Assets, Global Transaction Services at DBS, said: “In a global digital economy that never sleeps, businesses need to move money more quickly and efficiently across borders to stay competitive. Swift Digital Ledger is bridging traditional banking infrastructures with emerging digital networks to enable deeper interoperability that benefits clients. We are pleased to be working with Citi to demonstrate how tokenised money is moving from experimentation to real world adoption, laying the foundations for a more connected, nimble and always on global financial system.”
Mridula Iyer, Head of Services for Asia South at Citi, said: “This milestone with DBS on Swift’s ledger reflects Citi’s commitment to building financial infrastructure for our clients and partners that is always on, interoperable and fit for the future. Processing a live transaction over a weekend demonstrates that always on cross border payments are already a reality. This work is a natural extension of our strategy in the Services business to integrate our traditional cash management and securities capabilities with emerging tokenised networks and assets and deliver value to institutional clients across their local and global operating models.”
The transaction builds on DBS’s existing work in tokenised money and payments. The bank launched DBS Token Services in 2024, a suite of blockchain powered banking services that enables 24/7, programmable, secure and instantaneous value transfers, including DBS Treasury Tokens, its treasury and liquidity management solution built on a permissioned blockchain. DBS is also the only Asian headquartered bank among the 12 banks in Swift’s digital ledger core design group shaping the network’s architecture.
Digital Trade Outlook’s View: DBS and Citi
What stands out here is that DBS and Citi settled this on Swift’s own ledger rather than a separate blockchain rail, showing tokenised deposits can run on infrastructure banks already trust. With Asia’s outbound cross border payments set to nearly double by 2033 and half of finance leaders already exploring blockchain based liquidity tools, always on settlement like this could become a real competitive edge for treasury teams working across time zones.
Related on Digital Trade Outlook
- Swift’s blockchain ledger goes live as 17 banks pilot tokenised cross-border payments
- Citi Completes First Instant Cross-Border Dollar Payment With Partner Bank
- DBS and Stripe Partner on Cross-Border Payments and AI Commerce in Asia