Wall Street banks develop tokenized deposits to streamline cross-border payments

DBS and Citi successfully completed a cross-border dollar payment between Singapore and the US in minutes on September 5 using tokenized deposits via the SWIFT digital ledger. This initiative aims to address inefficiencies in international transfers, such as delays over weekends and the need for companies to hold excess cash in multiple locations. By offering faster, more flexible payment solutions, banks seek to retain corporate clients and protect fee-based revenue streams from emerging digital asset competitors.