DBS and Citi executed the first transfer of tokenized bank deposits from Singapore to the U.S. over a weekend Saturday, settling in minutes on SWIFT's digital-ledger infrastructure—a speed that exposes the friction in conventional cross-border banking.
Standard international transfers require up to two working days for settlement. This transaction completed when traditional bank processing would be offline, demonstrating the operational advantage of tokenized deposits on blockchain rails.
The move builds on an August transfer by HSBC and Standard Chartered, the first instance of financial institutions using SWIFT's ledger to move tokenized deposits internationally.
SWIFT's ledger entered initial operational stages in July. Seventeen major banks joined trials for tokenized deposits, including Citi, DBS, BNP Paribas, HSBC, ANZ, UBS and Standard Chartered.
Citi is advancing a separate digital deposit system with other major U.S. banks. The Clearing House will operate the infrastructure, with David Watson, CEO of The Clearing House, targeting a launch within the first six months of 2027.
DBS and JPMorgan are developing a framework to enable deposit-token platforms at different banks to communicate via blockchain technology. The partnership, disclosed in late 2025, aims to create a common payments standard for potential industry-wide adoption.
