Standard Chartered has introduced a tokenised deposits solution for SGD and USD in Singapore, first adopted by Ant International.
The bank said the launch follows the completion of a pilot involving Singapore dollar liquidity transfers for Ant International and enables real-time treasury movements through Ant International’s blockchain-based Whale platform.
The solution allows tokenised representations of bank deposits to be used while remaining linked to accounts held with Standard Chartered.
The initiative builds on work carried out under the Guardian initiative convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to improve liquidity and efficiency in financial markets through asset tokenisation.
Standard Chartered said the deployment reflects lessons from the programme and marks a step towards the commercial use of tokenised deposits.
“As corporates and institutions increasingly rely on ‘just in time’ liquidity, demand for real time and 24/7 treasury management is rapidly accelerating. Driven by a shared vision of shaping the future of cash management, we are pleased to collaborate with Ant international from the conceptualisation towards the commercial launch of this solution.
This is part of our continued efforts to continuously innovate our solutions and offer our clients seamless and safe access to blockchain-based cash management and investment solutions.”
said Mahesh Kini, Global Head of Cash Management at Standard Chartered.
For Ant International, the solution supports near real-time intra-group deployment of liquidity across its entities and improves treasury and working capital management.
The integration enables liquidity to move between Ant International’s bank accounts held with Standard Chartered and tokenised deposits on the Whale platform.
“We are delighted to continue partnering with Standard Chartered on blockchain innovations that serve the cross-border payment needs of businesses of all sizes.
By combining Standard Chartered’s deep banking capabilities with Ant International’s expertise in tokenisation and global payments, the new solution enhances our liquidity management by providing seamless and secure access to the working capital needs of our businesses globally,”
said Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International.
The solution supports transactions in SGD and USD in Singapore.
In Hong Kong, it supports HKD, CNH and USD, allowing users to manage liquidity across markets using currencies they already operate with.
Standard Chartered and Ant International are both participants in the Guardian initiative in Singapore.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Standard Chartered
