DBS pilots blockchain-based treasury tokens with Ant International

Singaporean financial giant DBS has launched a treasury token pilot with Ant International with the aim of improving cross-border treasury and liquidity management.

DBS Group has launched a blockchain-based pilot in collaboration with Ant International to facilitate cross-border treasury and liquidity management.

DBS announced in a press release dated August 13 that it will use the permissioned blockchain, which is compatible with Ethereum’s EVM, in what is being called the DBS Treasury Tokens project to facilitate multi-currency treasury operations for Ant International, which operates mobile payment service Alipay+.

“This new capability comes at a time when businesses’ treasury needs are evolving to meet the rise of e-commerce and 24/7 on-demand services.”

Lim Soon Chong, group head of global transaction services at DBS Bank

Kelvin Li, President of Platform Technologies at Ant International, stated that the partnership with DBS addresses key challenges in cross-border payments, such as cost reduction and transaction risk reduction.

The treasury token is expected to enable Alibaba Group subsidiary Ant International to optimise its liquidity management across various global markets, with DBS saying the pilot could potentially reduce the settlement of intra-group transactions from “days to seconds”.

In addition to its tokenization initiatives, DBS has also been making progress in the crypto space. In July, the bank became a custody partner for Paxos, a New York-based stablecoin issuer, and in February, DBS expanded its services to include crypto offerings for clients in Hong Kong.