Investment bank UBS has entered into a strategic partnership with financial technology company Ant International to explore tokenized deposits for real-time cross-border payments and global liquidity management, marking a notable expansion of the Swiss bank’s blockchain-based digital cash platform.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in Singapore, anchoring the deal in one of the most active hubs of institutional blockchain experimentation. This move positions tokenized bank money as a potential alternative to traditional Treasury payment rails, which are still defined by cutoffs, fragmentation, and multi-currency delays.
Ant International, which oversees operations within the broader Alipay+ ecosystem, announced it will utilize UBS Digital Cash to streamline internal financial transfers across jurisdictions.
“We share a common belief that these technologies have the potential to transform cross-border payments, and we look forward to driving even greater impact together through UBS’s global expertise and support,” said Kelvin Lee, Global Manager Platform Technology at Ant International.
Breaking down bottlenecks in corporate finance operations
This collaboration directly addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks in corporate treasury operations: intragroup remittances that rely on traditional banking rails. These may have limited business hours and payment speeds may be unstable.
By tokenizing deposit liabilities on a permissioned digital ledger, financial institutions will be able to synchronize liquidity across different subsidiaries in just minutes instead of days. This is a change that global payment providers have struggled with.
Piloted in 2024 with selected institutions, UBS Digital Cash is positioned as bank-issued digital money for wholesale use cases.
Yong Jing Yee, country head of UBS Singapore, said: “By combining our expertise in digital assets with Ant’s advanced blockchain technology, we are working together to deliver real-time multi-currency payment solutions that set standards for transparency and efficiency.”
This new partnership is one of the most concrete examples of a major payments infrastructure operation leveraging tokenized deposits.
For Ant International, the integration will provide a programmable payments layer that can support treasury operations across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Related: Franklin Templeton brings tokenized USD money market fund to Hong Kong
Singapore’s new role in institutional tokenization
This partnership strengthens Singapore’s growing role in institutional blockchain efforts.
In 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has advanced the tokenization of assets with a new framework, developing various projects such as Project Guardian, which focuses on the tokenization of funds, and Project Orchid, which has developed a use case for a retail central bank digital currency.
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