Citi (NYSE:C) announced that Citi Token Services for Cash has moved from a pilot program to a live commercial solution, facilitating transactions for institutional clients.
This marks a key milestone in Citi’s journey to deliver real-time transaction banking services to some of its global clients.
In addition, Citi Token Services for Trade also marked a milestone by reportedly facilitating pilot transactions in collaboration with shipping agents, CB Fenton and GAC Panama Shipping.
Ryan Rugg, Head of Digital Assets, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi said that the continued progress of Citi Token Services is a vital component of Citi’s pursuit of real-time, “always-on services” for its institutional clients.
Ryan added that by using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and smart contracts, Citi has created a “patented programmable payment” and “liquidity platform,” which will reduce costs and enhance processes.
Citi Token Services for Cash processes transactions and provides clients with 24/7, “always-on cross-border liquidity” and payments between participating Citi branches.
Citi Token Services was designed using a private and permissioned blockchain that is said to be solely owned and managed by Citi, ensuring soundness for clients.
Clients are not required to hold or manage any tokens to access such services.
Mayela Stuparitz, Global Treasury Director at Mars, Incorporated said that at Mars, they are looking to a future where the treasury ecosystem is always on.
As an early adopter of Citi Token Services for Cash, they have seen firsthand that this future requires dynamic, real-time solutions for movement of value.
They added that Citi takes an open approach to innovative solutions, while keeping safety, reliability, and scalability top of mind.
Initially, Citi piloted this solution between Singapore and New York, and continues to pursue onboarding additional branches to unlock further opportunities.
With the industry’s proprietary network and banking licenses in 90+ countries, there is potential to support “multiple key payments corridors” for clients via the solution.
For the “first” time, CB Fenton and GAC Panama Shipping have utilized Citi Token Services for transit operations to streamline payments.
These pilot transits are the first “real-world use” of Citi Token Services for Trade in global shipping.
By replacing transactions like guarantees and letters of credit with smart contracts backed by tokenized cash, Citi Token Services for Trade will bring trade finance into “an increasingly real-time world.”
The completely digital process will enable 24/7 settlements, when “predetermined criteria” are met, between Citi clients and their counterparties to “automatically execute” and provide provisional payments.
This tech will aim to reduce transaction processing times from “days to minutes.”
These pilot transits demonstrate the potential for global trade when manual, and time-consuming processes are replaced by digital solutions and are said to present a “significant opportunity” to extend Citi Token Services for Trade.