Citigroup plans to launch a tokenised deposit-based cross-border remittance service for corporate clients in Japan within this year, Nikkei Asia reported on Sept. 9 (local time).
The report said the service will support real-time foreign-currency transfers at night and on holidays. It will also process cross-border payments in real time between Japan and Citigroup entities in the United States, Britain, Singapore, Hong Kong and Ireland.
Shamir Karkal (샤미르 칼리크), head of global services at Citigroup, said this would be the first time a foreign financial institution provides such a service to corporate clients in Japan.
Tokenised deposits convert existing deposits into digital tokens that can be transferred on a blockchain. They use existing banking infrastructure, and companies do not need to pre-fund payments to avoid holiday delays, which can reduce the time funds are tied up and financing costs.
Citigroup currently processes about $6 trillion in transactions a day. Of that, tokenised deposit remittances amount to about $1 billion a day. Citigroup is also discussing building an interbank remittance infrastructure with SWIFT and The Clearing House.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr