Ant International, UBS Team Up for Blockchain Payments Across Borders

Ant International, the global arm of Ant Group, partnered with Swiss banking giant UBS to modernize its treasury and payments infrastructure.

According to a release, the collaboration will focus on blockchain-powered settlement, tokenized deposits, and real‑time fund movement.

A Strategic Push Into Blockchain Treasury Operations

Under a new memorandum of understanding (MoU), Ant International will integrate UBS Digital Cash, a blockchain‑based payment platform piloted in 2024, into its global treasury operations.

The platform is designed to streamline cross‑border liquidity flows, improve security, and remove the friction normally caused by international banking cut‑off times.

For Ant, the partnership comes amid a broader shift toward blockchain‑first infrastructure. The company will combine UBS Digital Cash with its in‑house Whale platform, a proprietary blockchain‑based treasury management system that already processes a large share of Ant’s internal transactions.

With both systems connected, Ant aims to enable constant, multi‑currency movement of funds between its global entities, regardless of time zone.

Building a Framework for Tokenized Deposits

A core focus of the partnership is joint research and development around tokenized deposits, i.e., digital representations of traditional bank deposits that can move instantly across blockchain rails.

If successful, the two firms expect this model to improve transparency, settlement speed, and auditability for complex transactions.

Hong Kong’s Project Ensemble, a regulatory sandbox for tokenized transactions, has already facilitated real‑value settlements between major banks and fintech firms.

Ant International and its blockchain arm, Ant Digital Technologies, are both participating in the pilot.

HSBC recently completed a HK$3.8 million ($488,820) transfer in tokenized deposits for Ant under this program, showing how institutional adoption is accelerating.

Ant’s Wider Digital‑Asset Ambitions

The new partnership sits alongside Ant International’s increasing exploration of regulated digital asset infrastructure. Earlier this year, reports stated that Ant is evaluating stablecoin licensing in several jurisdictions.

While it clarified that it has no plans to push into speculative crypto activity, Ant believes that stablecoins have immense potential to better the modern payment infrastructure.

Ant said that blockchain settlement and tokenized money offer a more efficient framework for international commerce.

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