Citi, DBS Complete First Weekend Cross-Border Transfer of Tokenized Deposits on Swift

Citi and Singapore's DBS completed a cross-border transfer of tokenized deposits using Swift's blockchain-based ledger, marking the first such transaction executed over a weekend.

Cointelegraph reported on September 7 that Citi and DBS transferred tokenized deposits from Singapore to the U.S. through the Swift Digital Ledger on September 5. It was the first time the system had been used to complete a weekend cross-border transfer.

The transaction was processed outside normal banking hours, with the transfer and final settlement completed within minutes. DBS said that significantly shortened processing time, given that conventional cross-border remittances can take as long as two business days.

Swift said in July that it had completed initial readiness work for its blockchain-based digital ledger and would begin pilot operations for tokenized cross-border payments with 17 major banks, including Citi, DBS, HSBC, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ and Standard Chartered. Last month, Standard Chartered and HSBC completed the first live tokenized cross-border transaction using the ledger.

Citi and DBS are also separately stepping up efforts to build tokenized deposit infrastructure. Major U.S. banks, including Citi, are pushing to launch a separate tokenized deposit network in the first half of 2027, while DBS is developing a tokenization framework with JPMorgan that would allow interbank deposit tokens to be transferred on-chain.