Latest news with #FXsettlement
National Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
ISDA and Ant International Lead New Industry Report on Use of Tokenised Bank Liabilities for FX Settlement and Cross-Border Payments Under Project Guardian
Article content SINGAPORE — The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and Ant International led the Project Guardian FX industry group to develop a new report for implementing tokenised bank liabilities and shared ledger in cross-border payments and foreign exchange (FX) settlement. Article content Article content The joint report is produced under the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) Project Guardian, a global collaboration between policymakers and key industry players to enhance liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation. ISDA and Ant International are members of the industry group and lead the FX workstream to develop FX data specifications, risk management frameworks and FX documentation. Other contributors to the report include BNY, HSBC, OCBC and the Global Financial Markets Association's Global Foreign Exchange Division. Article content Available on MAS' website, the report draws on the partners' technology expertise, FX payment experience and extensive industry partnerships to propose principles for leveraging tokenised bank liabilities and shared ledgers in transaction banking services. This includes: Article content Design principles for tokenised bank liabilities to standardise industry practices and enable interoperability; Key risks and mitigation actions for shared ledger-based payments; and Use cases showcasing real-world shared ledgers and tokenised payments in transaction banking. Article content As a Project Guardian participant, Ant International also leveraged its blockchain-based Whale platform to develop a global treasury management use case for real-time multi-currency clearing and settlement. Article content Addressing Current Challenges in Cross-Border Payments Through Tokenisation Article content FX-related risks and costs remain a major hurdle in cross-market and cross-currency payments, especially for businesses in the digital economy. On top of limited settlement windows, they also face time zone delays and different settlement assets and platforms. This results in slower settlement and higher fees, with an estimated US$120 billion (S$154.2 billion) spent annually on cross-border transaction fees 1. Article content In contrast, use cases by the industry group show that tokenised bank liabilities and shared ledgers can result in faster, more secure and efficient cross-border payments. By enabling interoperability between bank solutions, payments can be completed 24/7 with FX settlement conducted in real-time. Payment settlement time is also reduced to minutes or even seconds, providing a more seamless payment experience for businesses and their customers. Article content However, a universally-accepted industry framework is needed for industry-wide adoption, which could lower cross-border transaction costs by 12.5%, saving businesses more than US$50 billion (S$64.2 billion) by 2030 2. Article content ISDA and Ant International, together with the Project Guardian industry group, will continue to broaden the applications of shared ledgers and tokenised bank liabilities by developing more use cases for the digital economy. This includes integrating with existing banking systems and supporting other digital assets so that businesses big and small can benefit from this innovative technology. Article content Scott O'Malia, Chief Executive of ISDA, said: Article content 'Tokenisation has the potential to revolutionise cross-border payments and FX settlements, significantly increasing efficiencies and reducing costs and risks. Our work with MAS and the industry group has highlighted the critical importance of common standards and industry documentation to support the safe and efficient use of tokenised bank liabilities, and this will continue to be a focus for ISDA as we further develop the potential for tokenisation.' Article content Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International, Article content said: 'We are honoured to help shape industry adoption of tokenisation with ISDA under Project Guardian's leadership. Since 2019, Ant International has used tokenised deposits to streamline wholesale payments and treasury activities. We now process over a third of our transactions on-chain. In addition to faster, cheaper and more secure cross-border payments, tokenisation programmes are translating technology into more competitive FX rates and faster FX settlement for customers. We will continue evolving our Whale platform to serve businesses of all sizes with the latest shared ledger technology, such as tokenised deposits and stablecoins.' Article content Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said: Article content 'The use of tokenised bank liabilities marks a milestone in the evolution of cross-border payments and FX settlements. Underpinned by shared ledger infrastructures, tokenised bank liabilities can enable 24/7, real-time settlement across borders and help optimise liquidity management in transaction banking. Together with members of Project Guardian, we look forward to advancing efforts towards more efficient global financial markets.' Article content About ISDA Article content Since 1985, ISDA has worked to make the global derivatives markets safer and more efficient. Today, ISDA has over 1,000 member institutions from 76 countries. These members comprise a broad range of derivatives market participants, including corporations, investment managers, government and supranational entities, insurance companies, energy and commodities firms, and international and regional banks. In addition to market participants, members also include key components of the derivatives market infrastructure, such as exchanges, intermediaries, clearing houses and repositories, as well as law firms, accounting firms and other service providers. Information about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association's website: Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. Article content About Ant International Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contacts Article content ISDA Article content Article content Christopher Faimali Article content Article content ISDA London Article content Article content +44 20 3808 9736 Article content Article content CFaimali@ Article content
Finextra
17-06-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Osttra, Baton and Partior expand FX settlement ecosystem with tokenised commercial bank funds
Partior's digital cash settlement network has connected to Osttra and Baton Systems' on-demand FX payment-versus-payment (PvP) settlement service. 1 Like 0 The PvP network is powered by Baton's DLT technology, which has facilitated over $13 trillion in FX settlements to date. The integration of bank-backed fintech Partior is designed to expand participants' options for settling FX transactions with PvP protection to include using tokenised commercial bank facilities. Participants can continue to tap the existing automated matching, netting and settlement orchestration which delivers programmable atomic PvP but can now elect to settle FX transactions using either fiat or tokenised commercial bank money or an asset with the credit characteristics of central bank money. Humphrey Valenbreder, CEO, Partior, says: 'As the industry moves beyond experimentation toward real-world adoption of digital assets, the ability to settle FX trades with tokenised commercial bank money efficiently is a great step forward. Arjun Jayaram, CEO, Baton Systems, adds: 'The transition from fiat to digital assets is ushering in an era where banks can leverage multiple settlement venues to optimise liquidity and ensure safe settlement. "With Partior now integrated with our institutional-grade DLT, we provide network participants with even greater choice in the account structures they can use to orchestrate settlement across venues for an increasingly diverse range of assets.'
