Payments Global banking giant Citi announced an industry-first integration that combines its Citi® Token Services (a blockchain-based platform) with its 24/7 USD Clearing solution.
This integration is designed to provide its institutional clients in the UK and US with a multibank cross-border instant payment and liquidity management capabilities. By tokenizing deposits and integrating them with its 24/7 clearing system, Citi is effectively eliminating the limitations of traditional banking hours for its institutional clients engaging in cross-border commerce.
Stephen Randall, Head of Liquidity Management Services, Citi, commented:
“This industry-first integration significantly reduces friction in payments and liquidity, offering unprecedented control and flexibility, especially compared to other systems that can burden clients with deep technical and incremental risk management work.”
Real-world tokenization
The significance of this development is in the fact that a major bank using tokenization—a core blockchain concept—to solve a fundamental real-world problem for corporate clients: the need for continuous, real-time access to USD for payments and internal treasury management, regardless of banking hours.
This move reinforces the trend of traditional finance leveraging permissioned blockchain technology to enhance efficiency, reduce settlement risk, and provide always-on banking services for the global economy.