OCBC has become the first bank to collaborate with Ant International on a tokenised deposit solution, according to the bank's announcement. The solution allows Ant International and its businesses to manage intra-group liquidity across borders. Treasury transactions between entities in Singapore and Malaysia can be settled at any time, including outside normal banking hours.
How the solution works
Tokenised deposits are digital representations of commercial bank deposits recorded on a distributed ledger. Each transfer is recorded on a blockchain, which creates a transparent and immutable audit trail. According to the companies, this reduces the need for manual reconciliation.
In the initial phase, Ant International will be able to mobilise SGD- and USD-denominated tokenised deposits 24/7. This allows near real-time settlement of treasury transactions between its entities. The solution runs on OCBC's blockchain infrastructure and is delivered through WhaleRTP, Ant International's treasury management platform. The companies say WhaleRTP is designed for liquidity management and for interoperability across blockchain assets issued by financial institutions.
Ant International describes itself as an AI-native provider of payment, account, FX, treasury and growth solutions. For a group with entities in several markets, the arrangement is intended to improve working capital management. Funds can be repositioned between entities without waiting for conventional settlement windows.
Addressing constraints in cross-border liquidity
The launch responds to demand for real-time treasury and liquidity management. Conventional cross-border liquidity movements are often limited by batch processing cycles, banking operating hours, and currency and settlement cut-off times. Tokenised deposits allow corporates to move and deploy liquidity outside those windows, while the funds remain commercial bank deposits.
Carmen Chan, Deputy Head, Global Transaction Banking, OCBC, said the collaboration shows tokenisation moving beyond experimentation towards practical value for treasury and working capital management at scale. Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech and Senior Vice President at Ant International said the Whale platform supports more efficient cross-border treasury across the group's ecosystem. The representative added that the companies aim to contribute to the scalable adoption of tokenisation.
OCBC's tokenisation activity in 2026
The collaboration follows several digital asset initiatives by OCBC during 2026. In September 2026, the bank completed a cross-border tokenised deposit transaction in USD with Citibank on Swift's ledger, which it described as the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. In the same month, OCBC and two other local banks completed domestic tokenised deposit transactions in SGD on Swift's ledger. The banks said these transactions showed how tokenised deposits can support near real-time liquidity movement and settlement across banking networks.
In April 2026, OCBC launched the OCBC-LionGlobal Physical Gold Fund Token (GOLDX token) with its asset management arm, Lion Global Investors, and digital asset exchange DigiFT. The bank described it as Southeast Asia's first tokenised physical gold fund available on a public blockchain.
From interbank tests to corporate treasury
The Ant International deployment takes OCBC's tokenised deposit work beyond interbank transactions on Swift's ledger and into a live corporate treasury setting. The solution initially covers SGD and USD deposits and the Singapore–Malaysia corridor. It applies tokenised deposits to intra-group liquidity, where cut-off times and batch cycles have traditionally determined how quickly cash can be moved between entities.
