Singapore's DBS has integrated a suite of blockchain-powered capabilities within its core transaction banking services for institutional clients.
Unveiled after a host of pilots, DBS Token Services brings tokenisation and smart contract-enabled capabilities - including Treasury Tokens, Conditional Payments and Programmable Rewards - to the lender's clients.
The technology unlocks instant, 24/7 real-time settlement of payments by integrating the bank’s Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible permissioned blockchain, its core payment engine and multiple industry payment infrastructures. In addition, smart contracts enable programmability for institutions to govern the use of funds according to predefined conditions.
DBS says that using a permissioned blockchain provides it with full control over these services, enabling it to harness the benefits of blockchain technology while adhering to compliance standards.
Lim Soon Chong, group head, global transaction services, DBS Bank, says: "By leveraging tokenisation and smart contract capabilities, DBS Token Services enables companies and public sector entities to optimise liquidity management, streamline operational workflows, strengthen business resilience, and unlock new opportunities for end-customer or end-user engagement."
Treasury Tokens empowers large corporations operating across multiple markets to settle multi-currency intra-group transactions instantly on a 24/7 basis, unconstrained by currency cut-off timings and non-banking hours associated with traditional banking systems.
Conditional Payments offer institutions the potential to redesign and automate overall payment workflows and can be extended to varying forms of intermediated payments and milestone-based payments.
Meanwhile, Programmable Rewards aims to let clients curate digital voucher programmes for their customers in a cost-effective manner.