DBS, Citi bypass traditional banking hours in cross-border tokenised deposit trial
Standard cross-border settlement can take up to 2 business days due to time zones, weekend closures
[SINGAPORE] DBS and Citigroup executed a cross-border US dollar payment on Saturday (Sep 5) using tokenised deposits, marking a new milestone in the banks’ efforts to bypass traditional banking hours and enable round-the-clock global cash transfers.
The transaction, completed by DBS and Citi’s New York office took minutes to process using the Swift Digital Ledger, said the two banks on Monday. Standard cross-border settlement can take up to two business days due to time zone mismatches and weekend banking closures.
The test comes as financial institutions seek faster liquidity management tools to support 24/7 digital industries such as e-commerce and digital services. Outbound cross-border payment volume in Asia is projected to nearly double to US$24 trillion by 2033, from US$13.5 trillion in 2025.
“In a global digital economy that never sleeps, businesses need to move money more quickly and efficiently across borders to stay competitive,” Rachel Chew, group chief operating officer and co-head of digital assets for global transaction services at DBS, said.
About 50 per cent of finance leaders are currently exploring blockchain-powered capabilities as part of their liquidity and foreign-exchange risk toolkits, indicated a July 2025 report by DBS.
The weekend transaction shows that always-on cross-border payments are shifting from experimentation to real-world adoption, said Mridula Iyer, head of services for Asia South at Citi. The initiative integrates Citi’s core cash management capabilities with emerging tokenised asset networks.
Singapore-based DBS launched its blockchain-powered banking suite, including treasury tokens, in 2024 to support instantaneous value transfers. The lender is also the only Asian-headquartered bank in Swift’s 12-member core design group for its digital ledger architecture.
The bank said in August that it expects its investment in tokenised finance to catch up with or even overtake traditional payment and custody spending within the next two to three years.
