DBS and Citi have completed a cross-border U.S. dollar payment between Singapore and the United States over a weekend, marking a significant step toward round-the-clock bank payments. The transaction, executed on Sept. 5, used tokenized deposits settled through Swift's blockchain-based Digital Ledger and was completed in just minutes.

Tokenized deposits are digital representations of commercial bank money held on a distributed ledger. Unlike stablecoins or central bank digital currencies, they remain claims on the issuing bank, keeping them within the regulated banking system.

By contrast, traditional cross-border transfers can take up to two business days to settle, due to time-zone differences, banking cutoffs, and weekend closures.

Swift's Digital Ledger is designed to bridge existing banking infrastructure with distributed ledger technology. It enables participating banks to coordinate the movement of tokenized deposits while continuing to rely on established settlement systems.

Always-on payments gain momentum

The DBS-Citi transaction comes as banks increasingly explore tokenized money as a way to improve liquidity and cross-border payment efficiency. The technology could allow companies to move funds outside conventional banking hours, which may be particularly useful for businesses that operate continuously across multiple markets.

Swift launched its blockchain-based ledger for initial use in July 2026. Seventeen banks across six continents joined the initial pilot, including Citi, DBS, HSBC, UBS, Standard Chartered, and Wells Fargo. The initiative focuses on 24/7 cross-border payments using bank-issued tokenized deposits.

DBS has expanded its tokenized finance capabilities since launching DBS Token Services in 2024, and the bank also participates in Swift's core design group for the Digital Ledger.

From pilot to real-world payments

The weekend transaction shows how tokenized deposits are moving beyond controlled experiments and into live financial infrastructure. Citi, for its part, has been developing 24/7 payment capabilities through its existing digital asset and clearing businesses.

For corporate treasurers, faster settlement could improve cash availability and reduce liquidity trapped by international banking schedules. The broader challenge ahead will be scaling interoperability while maintaining regulatory, risk, and settlement controls. Wider adoption will depend on more banks joining the network and on the consistent treatment of tokenized bank money across jurisdictions.