DBS and Citi Execute Weekend US Dollar Transfer on Swift’s Blockchain Ledger

Weekend dollar transfer completed on Swift ledger

DBS Bank and Citibank moved a U.S. dollar payment from Singapore to New York on 5 September 2026. The transfer used tokenized deposits on Swift’s blockchain‑based Digital Ledger and was finished in minutes, even though the final settlement will still happen through traditional banking systems.

Key points

• Transaction took minutes and was processed on a weekend.
• Swift’s ledger coordinates tokenized deposits while final settlement remains in existing systems.
• This is the second live use of the ledger; the first was HSBC and Standard Chartered in August.
• DBS says the test beats the usual two‑business‑day timeline for cross‑border payments.

How the ledger works

Swift describes the Digital Ledger as a secure layer that lets banks move bank‑issued tokenized deposits, which are recorded on each bank’s own ledger. The blockchain part only coordinates the movement; the actual settlement is completed later by the banks’ traditional settlement networks.

Why the test matters

Corporate treasurers can move liquidity across time zones without waiting for the banks to open on weekdays. The weekend execution shows the potential for 24/7 cross‑border payments, a goal highlighted by Swift when it announced the ledger’s readiness on 9 July 2026.

Open questions

The announcement did not reveal the amount of the September.5 payment or when the service will be available to a wider set of clients.

Sources

• The Defiant