The project, which operates on DBS’ permissioned blockchain, will enable Ant International, the operator of the widely used mobile payment service Alipay+, to use the digital token to achieve instant, multicurrency treasury and liquidity management for their entities across multiple markets, the bank said in an announcement on Tuesday.
The DBS treasury token is helpful for large companies like Ant International to reduce the settlement of intragroup transactions “from potentially days to seconds”, the bank said. It will give corporate treasurers greater visibility, predictability and control over the cash positions of different entities.
“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,” said Lim Soon Chong, group head of global transaction services at DBS.
Ant International’s head of platform technology, Kelvin Li, said the partnership with DBS will address challenges such as reducing costs and transaction risks from cross-border payments.
The Whale platform had already seen use cases in areas including instant tax refund services and cross-border payments for small and medium-sized enterprises, Li said.
Meanwhile, DBS envisions for its blockchain to unlock new efficiencies and capabilities in traditional banking services – such as “programmable, fractionalised and atomic [instant] value transfer”, said Lim.
DBS’ latest project originates from the lender’s participation in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s tokenisation projects. It was one of the use cases tested in Project Guardian, an initiative that explores asset tokenisation, in which Ant Group is also involved, for its treasury management solution.