Singapore – OCBC has launched a tokenised deposit solution with Ant International that enables round-the-clock treasury management and liquidity movement between Singapore and Malaysia, according to the bank.
OCBC says it is the first bank to collaborate with Ant International on such a solution, which runs on the company’s WhaleRTP, a blockchain-based wholesale settlement platform.
Ant International, an AI-native payment, account, FX, treasury and growth solutions provider, will use the system to manage intra-group liquidity across borders. The arrangement is designed to improve working capital management between its entities.
Tokenised deposits are digital representations of commercial bank deposits on a distributed ledger. Blockchain technology, in turn, creates a transparent and immutable audit trail that reduces manual reconciliation, according to the announcement.
At the outset, Ant International can mobilise S$- and US$-denominated tokenised deposits on a 24/7 basis. This enables near real-time settlement of treasury transactions between its entities.
OCBC’s blockchain capabilities power the solution, while WhaleRTP delivers it. The platform is described as a next-generation treasury management solution that supports interoperability across blockchain assets from leading financial institutions.
The launch comes amid growing demand for real-time treasury and liquidity management. Conventional cross-border liquidity movements are often constrained by batch processing cycles, operating-hour limitations, and currency and settlement cut-off times.
Tokenised deposits, by contrast, allow corporates to move and deploy liquidity beyond traditional banking windows, the bank said.
The development builds on OCBC’s earlier work in blockchain and digital assets. In September 2026, the bank completed Southeast Asia’s first cross-border tokenised deposit transaction in US dollars on Swift’s ledger with Citibank, according to OCBC.
In the same month, OCBC and two other local banks completed domestic tokenised deposit transactions in Singapore dollars on Swift’s ledger. The bank said the transactions demonstrated how tokenised deposits can facilitate near real-time liquidity movement and settlement across banking networks.
Earlier, in April 2026, OCBC, its asset management arm Lion Global Investors and digital asset exchange DigiFT launched the OCBC-LionGlobal Physical Gold Fund Token (“GOLDX token”). OCBC describes it as Southeast Asia’s first tokenised physical gold fund available on a public blockchain.
Commenting on the launch, Ms Carmen Chan, Deputy Head, Global Transaction Banking, OCBC, said, “OCBC has been a first mover in bringing innovative transaction banking solutions to market, and this latest milestone with Ant International demonstrates our commitment to helping corporates navigate an increasingly connected and fast-moving business environment.”
“By combining OCBC’s blockchain capabilities and transaction banking expertise with Ant International’s Whale platform, we are enabling businesses to manage liquidity with greater speed, visibility and efficiency. More importantly, this illustrates how tokenisation is moving beyond experimentation to deliver tangible, real-world value for treasury and working capital management at scale,” Chan added.
For its part, Mr Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech and Senior Vice President of Ant International, said, “We are glad to deepen our partnership with OCBC to bring real-world value to global businesses.”
“Through the Whale platform, we are enabling more efficient cross-border treasury across our ecosystem to unlock near real-time liquidity that can better support our businesses and our customers. Together with forward-looking leading institutions, we hope to contribute to the scalable adoption of tokenisation and build a more connected and efficient financial ecosystem for the future,” Li concluded.
