Singapore banks explore tokenisation to ease cross‑border payment liquidity

Banking executives at a SWIFT‑hosted panel in Singapore said tokenisation could help address the biggest remaining hurdle in cross‑border payments – liquidity. While around 75% of SWIFT payments now reach the receiving institution within ten minutes, about 80% of the total transaction time is spent in the “last mile” after funds arrive, due to local regulations, FX processes and domestic clearing. SWIFT is developing a blockchain‑based shared ledger that would allow banks to move tokenised cash or collateral, improving capital efficiency without replacing existing infrastructure.

Separately, analysts note that Singapore’s banks, especially DBS, are well positioned to benefit from China’s new caps on outbound wealth flows. tighter oversight is expected to shift high‑net‑worth and mass‑affluent clients toward Singapore’s diversified, policy‑supported wealth‑management model. DBS’s assets under management have approached US$300 billion, and the bank, along with OCBC and UOB, is expanding services for both “Ford” (US$100 k‑multi‑million) and “Ferrari” (US$30 m+) client segments.