DBS and Citi complete first weekend cross-border USD payment using tokenized deposits

DBS and Citi completed the first weekend cross-border USD payment between Singapore and the US on September 5, 2026, using tokenized deposits on Swift's Digital Ledger. The transaction settled in minutes, bypassing traditional banking hours and the typical two-day delay. This marks the second live transaction on Swift's ledger, which launched in July 2026 with 17 banks to compete with stablecoins. The pilot addresses costly weekend delays as Asian outbound payments are projected to reach $24 trillion by 2033.

DBS-Citi weekend tokenized deposit payment

• ▪Singapore-based financial services group DBS and American financial services giant Citi completed the first weekend cross-border USD payment between Singapore and the United States on September 5, 2026
• ▪The weekend cross-border USD payment on September 5, 2026, was executed between DBS in Singapore and Citi's New York office
• ▪DBS and Citi announced the completion of their weekend cross-border USD payment using tokenized deposits on September 7, 2026

Swift Digital Ledger blockchain infrastructure

• ▪The cross-border USD payment between DBS and Citi was executed using tokenized deposits via the Swift Digital Ledger
• ▪The DBS and Citi transaction on September 5, 2026, was the second confirmed live transaction on Swift's blockchain ledger, following a transfer by HSBC and Standard Chartered in August 2026
• ▪DBS is the only Asian-headquartered member of Swift's 12-bank digital ledger core design group
• ▪Swift launched its blockchain-based Digital Ledger in July 2026 to pilot tokenized cross-border payments with 17 major banks, including Citi and DBS

Cross-border payment efficiency improvements

• ▪Asia's outbound cross-border payments are projected to increase from $13.5 trillion in 2025 to $24 trillion by 2033
• ▪Tokenized deposit payments on Swift's Digital Ledger allow financial institutions to bypass traditional banking hours and eliminate weekend and time-zone delays
• ▪The tokenized deposit transaction between DBS and Citi settled in minutes, compared to the traditional industry norm of up to two business days

Tokenized deposit network initiatives

• ▪A group of major United States banks plans to launch a tokenized deposit network operated by The Clearing House in the first half of 2027
• ▪DBS launched a blockchain-powered banking suite in 2024, which includes DBS Treasury Tokens for liquidity management
• ▪DBS and JPMorgan announced plans in November 2025 to develop a blockchain-based tokenization framework to enable onchain transfers between their deposit token ecosystems

Debatable claims

• ▪Banks should use tokenized deposits to keep transaction liquidity within regulated channels
• ▪Tokenized cross-border payments should be centralized on a single global ledger

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