TL;DR
- UBS and Ant International signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding in Singapore.
- The alliance will integrate “UBS Digital Cash” with Ant’s “Whale” treasury platform.
- The goal is to use blockchain to settle instant cross-border payments and manage liquidity 24/7.
UBS and Ant International are forming a strategic alliance that promises to revolutionize multinational treasury management. The Swiss banking giant and the financial tech leader signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Singapore to research the use of tokenized bank deposits.
The firms’ objective is to enable real-time cross-border payments and optimize global liquidity management. This alliance seeks to solve the historical bottlenecks of traditional treasury operations, such as transfers limited by banking hours, fragmented systems, and settlement delays.
By leveraging blockchain technology, the initiative will allow for instant, multi-currency transactions with greater transparency and security, marking a milestone in the way corporations move money across borders.
Integration of UBS Digital Cash and the Whale Platform
The technical component of the alliance is key. Ant International will integrate “UBS Digital Cash,” the Swiss bank’s blockchain-based payment platform (piloted in 2024), directly into its global treasury operations.
Furthermore, the companies will explore a deeper technical connection between UBS Digital Cash and Ant’s “Whale” platform, a proprietary blockchain treasury management system. The partnership between these systems is designed to allow Ant International to move funds between jurisdictions instantly, dramatically improving liquidity management and reducing operational friction.
This initiative aligns closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) “Project Guardian,” which actively encourages real-world trials with asset tokenization. The Singaporean regulator’s support solidifies the country as a global hub for experimentation in next-generation finance.
The alliance of UBS and Ant International to explore tokenized deposits positions both firms at the forefront of Asia‘s advanced digital finance landscape, signaling how tokenized money could soon become a cornerstone of international treasury operations.
