Ant International, the Singapore-based spin-off of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, is ramping up its global treasury operations through a strategic partnership with Swiss bank UBS, as the two companies also look to explore innovations in blockchain-based tokenized deposits.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed at UBS’s offices in Singapore, Ant International will use UBS Digital Cash – a blockchain-based payments platform launched last year – for its global treasury operations to improve efficiency, transparency and security, the two companies announced on Monday.
The partnership would also explore joint innovations in tokenized deposits, including a “connected solution” that would involve Ant’s proprietary blockchain-based Whale platform – its in-house treasury management solution.
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“We share a common belief in the potential of these technologies to transform cross-border payments and look forward to driving greater impact together through UBS’s global expertise and support,” said Kelvin Li, global head of platform technology at Ant International, in a statement.
Hangzhou-based Ant Group is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.
The strategic partnership between UBS and Ant International comes as financial institutions increasingly adopt blockchain technology to improve cross-border payment solutions for their clients.
At the MoU signing ceremony in Singapore: (left to right) Young Jin Yee, Co-Head of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and Country Head for Singapore; Kay Tin Khoo, head of institutional clients for the Asia-Pacific region at UBS; Kelvin Li, general manager of platform technology at Ant International; and Douglas Feagin, president of Ant International. Photo: alt Document=At the MoU signing ceremony in Singapore: (left to right) Young Jin Yee, Co-Head of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and Country Head for Singapore; Kay Tin Khoo, head of institutional clients for the Asia-Pacific region at UBS; Kelvin Li, general manager of platform technology at Ant International; and Douglas Feagin, president of Ant International. Photo: Handout>
The connected solution envisioned by the partners would enable “real-time, multi-currency fund flows between Ant International entities seamlessly,” unconstrained by traditional payment cutoff times for better global liquidity management, according to the companies.
