Stablecoins are leading corporate interest in tokenised money, with 63% of large businesses already using or planning to adopt them, according to a DBS survey.
Tokenised deposits followed at 53%, alongside tokenised money market funds at 52%.
The report, The Great Rewiring: Money in a New Order, found that 88% of respondents were using or piloting tokenised money.
Of these, 24% had deployed it at scale, 43% reported limited live use and 21% were conducting pilots.
DBS commissioned EY to survey 422 business and finance leaders from companies with annual revenue exceeding US$500 million across 11 markets.
The findings come as businesses face shifting trade routes, currency volatility and pressure to expand into new markets.
More than three-quarters reported pressure to adapt to changing trade corridors and expand internationally, with Southeast Asia emerging as the top expansion destination.
Another 78% had built exposure to multiple currencies to support trade across different markets.
Businesses Look to Tokenised Money for Faster Payments
Some 72% of respondents were already experiencing or expected improvements in transaction traceability and auditability within two years.
Another 71% identified real-time cross-border payments as a benefit, while 66% pointed to stronger controls and governance and 65% to better liquidity management.
AI Adoption Grows as Companies Seek Bank Support
Businesses are also using AI to improve treasury operations, with 76% already seeing or expecting improvements in payment investigations and post-settlement issue resolution within two years.
The same proportion identified better cash and liquidity forecasting, while 75% pointed to improvements in reconciliation and exception detection.
However, regulatory uncertainty, data security concerns, limited expertise and integration challenges remain barriers to adopting AI and tokenised money.
Some 64% of respondents wanted banks to provide a single point of integration into tokenised money ecosystems, while 63% sought support for pilots and implementation.
Another 63% wanted access to bank-enabled technology infrastructure and platforms to support AI adoption.
Lim Soon Chong, Group Head of Global Transaction Services, DBS, said:
“The next chapter of cross-border finance will go beyond improving speed and cost, to moving value intelligently and securely. AI adoption, digital assets, tokenised money and new settlement mechanisms offer opportunities for companies to optimise liquidity and to scale effectively.
However, many emerging settlement networks are developing in parallel. For companies, fragmentation may add complexities and compliance obligations. The future will be defined by new forms of money and technology, and also shaped by trusted anchors who can orchestrate value movement across multiple networks.”
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Designer07 via Magnific
