Singapore's DBS is collaborating with Ant International on a blockchain-based tokenization project for 24/7 intra-group treasury and liquidity management.
The pilot programme will see Ant International use digital Treasury Tokens to achieve instant, multi-currency treasury and liquidity management on DBS’ permissioned blockchain for their entities across multiple markets.
DBS’ permissioned blockchain is fully integrated with Ant International’s next-generation treasury management Whale platform, enabling the Chinese giant to manage intra-group liquidity on a 24/7 basis.
Kelvin Li, head of platform tech, Ant International says: “This milestone with DBS is an important step forward in addressing challenges like reducing costs and transaction risks for cross-border payments. We have already seen successful use cases on our Whale platform in areas such as instant tax refund services and SME cross-border payments, and we will continue working together with industry partners and leveraging blockchain technology to enable more open and inclusive cross-border payments.”
He says DBS Treasury Tokens enable Ant International to reduce the settlement of intra-group transactions from potentially days to seconds, optimising intra-group liquidity and working capital by providing greater visibility, predictability and control over the entire group’s cash position.
Lim Soon Chong, group head of Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank, says: “This new capability comes at a time when the treasury needs of businesses are evolving to meet the rise of e-commerce and on-demand services on a 24/7 basis. DBS Treasury Tokens and our partnership with Ant International demonstrates how corporates can seize such opportunities with full confidence that their liquidity management capabilities can scale in tandem. DBS’ permissioned blockchain also forms the building block for new efficiencies and capabilities in traditional banking services, such as programmable, fractionalised and atomic value transfer.”
DBS Treasury Tokens stems from the bank’s multi-year participation in the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-led Project Orchid and Project Guardian to test the benefits of tokenisation. Under these initiatives the bank has piloted transactions involving Purpose Bound Money, institutional-grade financial protocols, as well as atomic settlement use cases with tokenised bank deposits and tokenised securities.