Ant International has completed pilot transactions involving UAE dirhams and US dollars using HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service, as the two companies expand their work on real-time treasury management in the Middle East.
The companies said on October 6 that the tests included real-time dirham-denominated transfers within the UAE and cross-border US dollar payments initiated from the UAE to international markets, including Hong Kong and Singapore.
The transactions were initiated through WhaleRTP, Ant International’s proprietary blockchain-based treasury management platform, before being executed through HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service, or TDS.
Ant International and HSBC jointly designed the transaction workflow, making Ant International the first HSBC client in the Middle East to use the TDS service.
The transactions remain pilots. The companies have not disclosed the value or volume of the transfers or announced when Ant International could begin using the arrangement for full-scale commercial treasury operations.
HSBC tokenised deposit network supports UAE dirham
HSBC expanded its Tokenised Deposit Service into the UAE earlier this year, adding the market to an international network that also covers Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The bank has also added the UAE dirham to the currencies supported by the service, alongside the US dollar, euro, British pound, Singapore dollar, Hong Kong dollar and offshore Chinese yuan. HSBC says the platform gives eligible corporate clients instant, 24/7 access to liquidity across its network.
HSBC has confirmed that the AED was added to its tokenised deposit capabilities in June following the UAE launch.
Ant International said WhaleRTP is supported by more than 20 global banks and enables real-time transfers in more than 17 currencies, including the UAE dirham, US dollar and Hong Kong dollar.
The company has used blockchain and tokenised deposit technology for treasury management since 2019 across financial centres including Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe and the United States.
Ant International eyes Middle East treasury hub
The expansion is expected to support Ant International businesses including Alipay+, Antom and WorldFirst as the company grows its operations across the region.
Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech and Senior Vice President at Ant International, described the pilot as another step towards real-time global treasury management.
Li said Ant International aims to establish a global treasury hub in the Middle East with support from regional banking partners such as HSBC. The company has not disclosed where such a hub could be located.
Kyle Boag, Regional Head of Global Payments Solutions at HSBC MENAT, said interoperability between tokenised deposit networks could help connect different financial infrastructures.
He said the technology could address practical corporate treasury challenges including moving liquidity between markets and financial institutions and improving visibility over cash positions.
Tokenised deposit activity accelerates in UAE
The Ant International pilot comes amid increased activity around tokenised deposits and blockchain-based payment infrastructure in the UAE.
Citi expanded Citi Token Services into the UAE on September 28, extending its blockchain-based cash management infrastructure to another major financial market. The service allows participating corporate clients to move liquidity between Citi branches on a 24/7 basis.
Separately, Mashreq and Citi announced on October 5 that they had completed a live transaction using Swift’s blockchain-based ledger infrastructure.
That project connects bank-issued tokenised deposits through a shared orchestration layer intended to support real-time cross-border payments between participating institutions.
Swift said in July that 17 banks across six continents were preparing to pilot live transactions on the infrastructure, including Citi, HSBC, Mashreq, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Standard Chartered, DBS, UBS and others.
Different models for always-on payments
The initiatives use different approaches to tokenised money.
HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service enables corporate clients to move tokenised commercial bank deposits using HSBC’s own infrastructure, while Citi Token Services similarly supports movements across Citi’s participating network.
Swift’s blockchain ledger is designed differently, acting as infrastructure connecting tokenised deposits issued by separate participating banks.
The Ant International pilot introduces another layer by connecting the company’s WhaleRTP treasury platform with HSBC’s tokenised deposit network through a jointly developed workflow.
The development highlights growing efforts by banks and fintech companies to make corporate liquidity available around the clock while ensuring different tokenised financial systems can communicate with one another.
For Ant International and HSBC, the next significant step will be moving beyond pilot transactions into regular commercial use. Neither company has yet provided a timetable for that transition or disclosed how many UAE clients currently use HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service.
