Tokenised deposits are digital representations of commercial bank deposits recorded on a distributed ledger. On 6 October 2026 (reported 7 October by finews.asia), Singapore-based OCBC said it had become the first bank to collaborate with Ant International on a tokenised deposit solution designed for 24/7 treasury management and liquidity transfers between Singapore and Malaysia. [1]
That “first bank” claim is company-reported via OCBC’s framing in the finews.asia article—not an independent league-table verification.
What is supposed to move, and how?
Per finews.asia: [1]
- The solution runs through Ant International’s WhaleRTP blockchain-based wholesale settlement platform.
- It is meant to let Ant International and its businesses move intra-group liquidity across borders more quickly and manage working capital more efficiently—companies’ description.
- Initially, the system supports Singapore dollar- and U.S. dollar-denominated tokenised deposits on a round-the-clock basis, enabling near-real-time settlement of treasury transactions between Ant International entities.
- OCBC says its blockchain capabilities underpin the solution; WhaleRTP provides treasury infrastructure and interoperability across blockchain-based assets issued by financial institutions.
Unlike conventional cross-border liquidity transfers—which can be limited by banking hours, batch processing and settlement cutoffs—tokenised deposits are pitched as allowing companies to move liquidity outside traditional banking windows. That contrast is the article’s explanatory framing, not a measured benchmark of every bank’s rails. [1]
Who is quoted?
Carmen Chan, deputy head of global transaction banking at OCBC, said combining OCBC’s blockchain capabilities and transaction banking expertise with Ant’s Whale platform enables businesses to manage liquidity with greater speed, visibility and efficiency, and that tokenisation is moving from experimentation toward practical treasury use. [1]
Kelvin Li, general manager of platform technology and senior vice president at Ant International, said the partnership would help provide near-real-time liquidity across Ant’s ecosystem. [1]
Context OCBC also cites
finews.asia notes related OCBC blockchain work: in September, OCBC said it completed Southeast Asia’s first cross-border tokenised deposit transaction in U.S. dollars on Swift’s ledger with Citibank, and domestic Singapore dollar tokenised deposit transactions on Swift’s ledger with two other Singapore banks; earlier in April, OCBC, Lion Global Investors and DigiFT launched the OCBC-LionGlobal Physical Gold Fund Token (GOLDX). [1]
Those are prior company-reported milestones, useful context for OCBC’s tokenisation path—not part of the Ant WhaleRTP launch itself.
What this does not prove
- That the solution is open to all corporates on day one; the described use case centres on Ant International and its businesses. [1]
- That “first bank to collaborate with Ant International” has been audited against every peer bank’s press history. [1]
- That 24/7 near-real-time settlement holds under every operational, legal or correspondent-bank constraint in both jurisdictions.
- That tokenised deposits here are the same legal product as tokenised securities or stablecoins.
No investment advice is offered here.
The Bottom Line
OCBC says it is the first bank working with Ant International on tokenised deposits for 24/7 SGD and USD treasury transfers between Singapore and Malaysia via WhaleRTP—a company-reported treasury application of deposit tokenisation, not a retail product launch or a completed multi-bank standard.
Sources
- finews.asia, 7 October 2026 — https://www.finews.asia/finance/45124-ocbc-ant-tokenized-deposit-solution
