Citi Bank signage, logo, Warsaw, Poland, September 9, 2023.
Editorial credit: Below the Sky / Shutterstcock.com

The tokenisation trend in finance continues as Citigroup (Citi), one of the world’s largest banking groups and financial institutions, launches one of its major tokenisation projects.

Citi Token Services for Cash’ has transitioned from the pilot phase to the live commercial solution phase, having been initially piloted between Singapore and New York. 

The solution is built on Citi’s in-house blockchain and facilitates multimillion dollar transactions via tokenisation to the company’s institutional clients, and will be available 24/7 and for cross-border payments.

Some aspects still remain in the pilot phase, with the firm trialling transactions in partnership with the shipping companies CB Fenton and GAC Panama Shipping. Regardless, Citi is adamant that the development is a major milestone in delivering its real-time, next-generation banking services ambitions.

“The continued progress of Citi Token Services is a key component of Citi’s pursuit of real-time, always-on services for its institutional clients,” said Ryan Rugg, Head of Digital Assets, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi.

“By using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and smart contracts, Citi has created a patented programmable payment and liquidity platform, which will reduce costs and streamline processes.”

Tokenisation, DLT and smart contracts, as referred to by Citi’s Rugg, are major talking points in the contemporary payments and finance fields, alongside other innovations like Open Banking, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and embedded finance.

Citi is hardly the first firm to experiment with and launch tokenised projects, and it likely won’t be the last. HSBC, another major global bank, took a huge step last month by trailing a tokenised gold service, for example.

Now that its service has been taken live, Citi aims to roll out the solution across its full breadth of global markets, utilising its network of over 90 banking licences. The New York-based bank stresses that the pilot has presented ‘a significant opportunity to extend Citi Token Services for Trade more widely in the future.’.

Chris Cox, the firm’s Global Head of Trade and Working Capital Solutions, said: “Creating cutting edge digital solutions to meet our clients’ ever-evolving needs is at the core of what we do at Citi. 

“Throughout our history, we have consistently helped to break down the barriers that have constrained global trade. Today, Citi Token Services for Trade represents the next example of how technology is making trade simpler.”