In a striking move for the banking sector, UBS has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ant International (a key unit of Ant Group) to explore blockchain-based, tokenised deposit solutions for real-time, multi-currency global payments.
The agreement, announced at UBS’s Singapore office, underscores a growing shift in payments infrastructure and highlights how banks are beginning to bridge the gap between legacy systems and next-generation fintech platforms.
Under the partnership, Ant International will deploy UBS’s Digital Cash platform (piloted in 2024) as the underlying infrastructure for treasury operations spanning multiple regions. The two firms will connect that platform to Ant’s internal “Whale” blockchain-based treasury-management system designed for large-scale liquidity flows across markets. The objective is to eliminate traditional cut-off times, improve transparency and speed of settlement, and enable tokenised deposits that enable flexibility in cross-border fund movement.
What makes this collaboration noteworthy is how rare it remains for major universal banks to engage in this type of fintech forward-integration, particularly around tokenisation and real-time cross-border settlement. Many banks still rely on legacy correspondent-bank networks, SWIFT rails, or incremental optimisations. By contrast, UBS is effectively positioning itself as a fintech co-innovator, not just a consumer of fintech services. That shift signals a deeper strategic re-thinking of payments, treasury and digital-asset infrastructure by banks.
Meanwhile, Ant Group continues to build out a broader suite of AI-driven financial innovations. At the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025 (SFF 2025), Ant showcased its AI-finance vision: from AI-powered underwriting and merchant servicing to large-language-model driven “smart finance managers” for SMEs and consumers. It is advancing full-scenario financial AI, embedding AI agents into merchant platforms and global wallet services.
In combining Ant’s AI and blockchain muscle with UBS’s banking scale and regulatory footprint, the partnership marks a new phase in global payments strategy: one where banks move from intermediary roles into platforms of settlement, real-time liquidity and tokenised flows. For global treasury operations, fintech innovation and cross-border commerce alike, this deal could become a bellwether for how banks evolve.
