Corporate entities in Tokyo will shift to a digital ledger system for international fund transfers by year-end to increase settlement speed. This new capability allows for 24/7 payment operations across five countries and establishes Citi as the first foreign bank to provide tokenized deposits in the Japanese market. The system removes traditional banking delays for companies moving funds internationally.

The expansion follows a partnership between Citi and DBS Bank to execute the first weekend USD cross-border payment between Singapore and the U.S. on September 5. That transaction used Swift's blockchain-based Digital Ledger to settle in minutes, whereas conventional transfers typically take up to two business days to complete.