UBS and Ant International Partner to Explore Tokenized Deposits for Cross-Border Payments

According to Cointelegraph, investment bank UBS has formed a strategic alliance with financial technology company Ant International to investigate the use of tokenized deposits for real-time cross-border payments and global liquidity management. This collaboration marks a significant expansion of the Swiss bank's blockchain-based digital cash platform. The agreement was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Singapore, a leading hub for institutional blockchain experimentation. The initiative aims to position tokenized bank money as a viable alternative to traditional treasury settlement systems, which are often hindered by cut-offs, fragmentation, and multicurrency delays. Ant International, which operates within the Alipay+ ecosystem, plans to leverage UBS Digital Cash to enhance internal treasury transfers across various jurisdictions. Kelvin Li, global manager of platform tech at Ant International, expressed optimism about the partnership, stating, "We share a common belief in the potential of these technologies to transform cross-border payments and look forward to driving greater impact together through UBS’s global expertise and support." The collaboration addresses a significant bottleneck in corporate treasury operations, specifically intra-group transfers reliant on legacy banking systems. These transfers are typically constrained by limited operating hours and inconsistent settlement speeds. By tokenizing deposit liabilities on permissioned digital ledgers, institutions can synchronize their liquidity across different subsidiaries in minutes rather than days, a challenge that global payment providers have long faced. UBS Digital Cash, which was piloted with selected institutions in 2024, is designed as bank-issued digital money for wholesale applications. Young Jin Yee, the country head for UBS Singapore, highlighted the partnership's potential, stating, "By combining our expertise in digital assets with Ant’s advanced blockchain technology, we are working together to deliver a real-time, multicurrency payment solution that sets standards for transparency and efficiency." This collaboration is one of the most tangible examples of a major payments infrastructure operation embracing tokenized deposits. For Ant International, the integration offers a programmable settlement layer that could support treasury operations across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The partnership underscores Singapore's emerging role in institutional blockchain initiatives. In 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) advanced asset tokenization with new frameworks, launching projects like Project Guardian, which focuses on fund tokenization, and Project Orchid, which developed use cases for a retail central bank digital currency.