UBS and Ant International have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding in Singapore to jointly explore the use of tokenized bank deposits for real-time, cross-border payments and global liquidity management. This move could reshape how multinational companies move money across borders.
Transforming Global Treasury with Blockchain
The partnership centers on solving long-standing bottlenecks in traditional treasury operations, where cross-border transfers are limited by banking hours, fragmented systems, and settlement delays. By leveraging tokenized deposits, the two firms aim to enable instant, multi-currency transactions with enhanced transparency and security.
UBS Digital Cash Meets Ant’s Whale Platform
Ant International will integrate UBS Digital Cash, the bank’s blockchain-based payment platform first piloted in 2024, directly into its global treasury operations. The companies will also explore deeper technical links by connecting UBS Digital Cash with Ant’s Whale platform, a proprietary blockchain treasury management system used across its entities.
Together, these systems are designed to allow Ant International to move funds instantly between jurisdictions, improving liquidity management and reducing operational friction.
Supported by Singapore’s Progressive Regulatory Push
The collaboration aligns closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, which encourages real-world trials involving asset tokenization and blockchain-based financial market infrastructure. The regulator’s support for tokenized deposits, digital assets, and interoperability makes Singapore a global hub for experimentation in next-generation finance.
A New Standard for Cross-Border Payments
By combining the infrastructure of a global bank with the technological capabilities of one of Asia’s largest fintech players, the initiative showcases how the region is moving toward a new standard of real-time, programmable, and highly efficient cross-border payment rails.
With this partnership, UBS and Ant International are positioning themselves at the front of Asia’s rapidly advancing digital finance landscape, and signaling how tokenized money may soon become a cornerstone of international treasury operations.