Speeding Money: How Tokenized Deposits Are Rewriting Cross‑Border Banking

Web3 & BlockchainInvestment & Financial Markets

Imagine moving money across continents in minutes, not days—thanks to tokenized deposits and blockchain, that’s now a reality.

TL;DR
• DBS and Citi completed a weekend USD payment via Swift’s blockchain ledger, settling in minutes.
• The move showcases tokenized deposits’ potential to operate 24/7, challenging traditional banking delays.
• Swift’s ledger, now in use by 17 banks, signals a shift toward continuous, faster cross‑border payments.

Summary
DBS and Citi executed a tokenized US‑dollar transfer between Singapore and New York on September 5, completing the settlement in minutes despite it being a weekend. The move demonstrates how blockchain‑based ledgers can bypass traditional banking cut‑offs and offers a glimpse of a continuously operating global payments fabric.
• Tokenized deposits settled on Swift’s Digital Ledger in under ten minutes, versus one to two business days via legacy rails.
• HSBC and Standard Chartered previously recorded the first live weekend settlement on the same ledger, confirming operational viability.
• A JPMorgan‑Bank of America‑Citigroup consortium plans a shared tokenized‑deposit network by early 2027, targeting faster cross‑border liquidity.
• Asia’s outbound payments are projected to rise to $24 trillion by 2033, intensifying demand for near‑real‑time settlement solutions.
• Over half of surveyed finance leaders are actively evaluating blockchain tools for FX and liquidity management.

The transaction leveraged Swift’s blockchain ledger, launched in July with 17 banks across six continents, to connect existing infrastructure with emerging digital networks. By tokenizing deposits, the banks created a digital representation of fiat that can move on a 24/7 network, reducing settlement latency and eliminating weekend downtime.

Industry commentary highlights that stablecoins and tokenized deposits enable continuous value flow, pressuring traditional institutions to adopt comparable capabilities or risk losing competitive edge. Anticipating rapid growth in cross‑border volumes, banks are investing in adaptable tokenization frameworks and collaborative networks, positioning themselves to scale with accelerating demand and potential disruptions to legacy revenue models.

Will tokenized deposits become the new norm for global finance, reshaping how we think about speed and security?