The pilot offers DBS Treasury Tokens on a permissioned, EVM-compatible blockchain, improving corporate liquidity management across several markets.
DBS Bank, a multinational banking and financial services company, has partnered with digital payment provider Ant International to launch a new blockchain-based treasury and liquidity management solution.
On August 13, DBS Bank announced the pilot introduction of DBS Treasury Tokens, which Ant International will use for instant and multicurrency treasury and liquidity management.
These new DBS Treasury Tokens will operate on DBS’s permissioned blockchain, catering to its entities across multiple markets.
DBS Integrates EVM-Compatible Permissioned Blockchain
Permissioned blockchains, also known as “private blockchains,” feature an access control layer that restricts participation to authorized users only.
This security mechanism ensures that only participants with certain levels of pre-approved authority can join the network.
While permissioned blockchains utilize distributed ledger technology (DLT), they are not fully decentralized.
DBS has stated that its permissioned blockchain is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and has been integrated with the bank’s core payments engine.
This integration enhances the system’s extensibility and interoperability with various industry payment infrastructures connected to DBS.
The Singapore-based bank also noted that the blockchain has been incorporated into Ant International’s treasury management platform, Whale.
This integration allows Ant International to manage its intragroup liquidity seamlessly, which DBS believes optimizes workflow and visibility.
In addition to blockchain technology, Ant’s Whale platform employs artificial intelligence and encryption to improve the transparency and efficiency of fund transfers between bank accounts.
Exploring the Advantages of Tokenization
The announcement highlighted that the DBS Treasury Tokens project leverages the company’s experience and systems developed through its participation in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Orchid and Project Guardian, which explore the benefits of tokenization.
DBS mentioned that its Treasury Tokens are one of the applications tested under Project Guardian.
Lim Soon Chong, DBS Bank’s group head of global transaction services, emphasized that the new project addresses a critical need driven by the growth of e-commerce and on-demand services. The executive stated:
“DBS Treasury Tokens and our partnership with Ant International demonstrate how corporates can seize such opportunities with full confidence that their liquidity management capabilities can scale in tandem.”
Lim added that DBS’s permissioned blockchain also lays the groundwork for new efficiencies and capabilities in traditional banking services, including “programmable, fractionalized, and atomic value transfer.”
