coindesk.com
DBS (D05) and Citi (C) completed the first cross-border USD payment over a weekend using tokenized deposits on Swift's Digital Ledger, the banks announced Monday. The transaction, executed on Sept. 5 between DBS in Singapore and Citi's New York office, settled in minutes rather than the industry norm of up to two business days.
It is the second confirmed live transaction on Swift's blockchain ledger, following HSBC and Standard Chartered's first live cross-border transfer in August. The back-to-back tests come as Swift's $1.5 quadrillion network faces pressure from stablecoins and tokenized deposits that settle around the clock, raising the question of whether the 53-year-old messaging network can adapt fast enough to remain relevant. Swift rolled out its blockchain ledger in July with 17 banks.
Cross-border payments between Asia and the US routinely stall over weekends. A corporate treasurer moving liquidity from Singapore to New York on a Friday has to wait until the following Monday at the earliest. For companies running 24/7 digital operations, that gap costs money in delayed supplier payments and frozen working capital, DBS said in its statement.
Half of finance leaders are already exploring blockchain’s capabilities for liquidity and FX management, according to a DBS global survey. Asia's outbound cross-border payments are forecast to rise to $24 trillion by 2033, nearly double the $13.5 trillion in 2025, according to a Money 20/20 and FXC Intelligence report cited by DBS.
DBS is the only Asian-headquartered bank in Swift's digital ledger core design group of 12 banks. The pilot launched in July with 17 banks across six continents.
"Processing a live transaction over a weekend demonstrates that always-on cross-border payments are already a reality," said Mridula Iyer, Citi's head of services for Asia South.