In partnership with Ant International, DBS has launched a pilot programme for DBS Treasury Tokens, an innovative tool for managing liquidity and treasury.

Ant International's entities across different markets will be able to carry out instantaneous, multi-currency treasury and liquidity management on DBS’ permissioned blockchain by utilising the digital form factor.

Furthermore, Ant International's Whale platform and DBS's permissioned blockchain are connected to allow Ant International to easily manage their intragroup liquidity around-the-clock, improving workflow and visibility.

The next-generation treasury management system from Ant International, the Whale platform, makes use of modern encryption, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence to increase the effectiveness and transparency of money transfers across bank accounts.

Payouts, collections, funding requirements, and cash positions across time zones and currencies must be managed by large corporations like Ant International, which run several organisations in multiple regions. Ant International can settle intra-group transactions in a matter of seconds rather than days with the help of DBS Treasury Tokens.

In addition to giving corporate treasurers more visibility, predictability, and control over the group's overall cash situation, this boosts intra-group liquidity and working capital.

Kelvin Li, Head of Platform Tech, Ant International stated: “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.”

Lim Soon Chong, group head of global transaction Services, DBS Bank, added: “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' permissioned blockchain connects with its core payments engine, improving interoperability with a variety of industry payment systems.