Citi and DBS Mark 1st Singapore-to-US Weekend Dollar Transaction

DBS and Citi Launch Instant Tokenized Cross-Border Payments --> By PYMNTS | September 7, 2026 Share: --> | Listen to Article Listen --> Citi and DBS made the first successful Singapore-to-U.S. dollar payment conducted on a weekend, according to a Sunday (Sept. 6) press release . Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required. yes Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today. By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions . Δ The Saturday (Sept. 5) transaction was executed using tokenized deposits via the Swift Digital Ledger , the release said. Companies that transact in U.S. dollars across jurisdictions and time zones can now execute cross-border payments outside of regular banking hours, per the release. We’d love to be your preferred source for news . Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks! Add as Preferred Source “The transaction took minutes to complete, marking a significant improvement from the industry norm of up to two business days for cross-border payments, as companies no longer lose days to time zone and weekend gaps,” the release said. “For institutions operating in round-the-clock borderless industries like eCommerce and digital services, this provides greater certainty and faster access to cash for suppliers and customers. In addition, corporate treasurers can respond more effectively to changing market conditions by moving liquidity across entities and markets at a moment’s notice.” The partnership is happening as half of finance leaders explore “blockchain-powered capabilities as part of their liquidity and FX management toolkit,” according to the release. The capability helps address growing demand for cross-border transactions in Asia, with the region’s outgoing cross-border payments forecast to jump to $24 trillion by 2033, almost twice that of 2025 volumes. Citi last week announced it was the first bank in the United States to have processed live transactions on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger, working in collaboration with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation . “Processing a live transaction over a weekend demonstrates that always-on cross-border payments are already a reality,” Mridula Iyer , head of services for Citi’s Asia South cluster, said of the DBS partnership in the press release. “This work is a natural extension of our strategy in the services business to integrate our traditional cash management and securities capabilities with emerging tokenized networks and assets and deliver value to institutional clients across their local and global operating models.” Tokenization is establishing new intermediaries rather than doing away with existing ones, PYMNTS reported Aug. 12. “Tokenization exposes the fact that some friction exists because markets need it,” the report said. “Instant atomic settlement can eliminate the period in which one party has delivered an asset but has not yet received payment. That reduces settlement and counterparty risk, but it also removes time.” Recommended Citi and DBS Mark 1st Singapore-to-US Weekend Dollar Transaction Nvidia CEO: Artificial General Intelligence Has ‘Arrived’ With New OpenAI Model UK Considers Easing Restrictions on Prediction Markets Hackers Take $320 Million From Liquid Network Blockchain See More In: Blockchain , Citi , cross-border payments , dbs , News , partnerships , PYMNTS News , SWIFT , tokenization , What's Hot