UBS pilots UBS Cash multi-currency payment solution

By leveraging blockchain, UBS Digital Cash aims to improve transparency and security in payment processing, potentially enabling faster transactions and providing companies with clearer visibility into their cash positions. This visibility could help firms more effectively manage intraday liquidity and adjust liquidity buffers as needed. 

Officials from UBS Institutional & Multinational Banking,explained that UBS Digital Cash aims to streamline cross-border payments for clients, focusing on efficiency and transparency. They noted that the solution aligns with UBS’s strategy to prioritise blockchain-based payments in global operations, marking the recent pilot as a significant development in this direction. 

The pilot included transactions with multinational clients and banks, encompassing both domestic payments within Switzerland and cross-border payments in various currencies, including USD, CHF, EUR and CNY. Additionally, UBS used the platform to facilitate liquidity transfers across different UBS entities, with plans to further expand and develop UBS Digital Cash. 

According to officials from Autoneum, the blockchain-based approach offers notable advantages. They highlighted that the pilot demonstrated how UBS Digital Cash could provide timely, traceable cross-border transactions, features that are especially valuable in a global market. 

Representatives from Group Treasury added that the interoperability of UBS Digital Cash with other digital cash initiatives could also benefit the financial sector. They suggested that, beyond facilitating correspondent banking, such tools have the potential to simplify settlement processes for tokenised assets in the capital markets.

How UBS Digital Cash operates 

UBS Digital Cash runs on a private blockchain network with restricted access for approved clients. The settlement process uses smart contracts, which automatically complete transactions when pre-set conditions are satisfied.  

Client transfers within UBS are digitally recorded and processed around the clock and are designed to be near-instantaneous, regardless of currency. The initiative complements UBS’s involvement in other blockchain and digital currency projects, including Project Helvetia, led by the Swiss National Bank, and the Agorá project, initiated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in collaboration with central banks, aimed at enabling tokenised deposits and central bank money in cross-border contexts.