Citigroup, the third largest banking institution in the U.S., announced Monday the launch of Citi Token Services, a blockchain-based cross-border payments solution for institutional clients.
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Fast facts
- The service will use tokenized deposits and smart contracts to provide real-time cross-border settlements and liquidity for institutional clients anywhere in the world and around the clock, Citi said in a press release.
- “[The news] is another sign that the big financial institutions continue to embrace blockchain technology,” Singapore-based digital asset services platform Matrixport’s head of research and strategy Markus Thielen said in an email statement. “Undoubtedly, blockchain is seen as a technological improvement to the current financial system.”
- Citi Token Services was tested in a piloting program with logistics company Maersk.
- The private blockchain technology used for Citi Token Services is owned and managed by Citi itself. The company explained that customers will not need to host a blockchain node to use the service.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. is also exploring a blockchain-based deposit token for faster cross-border payments and settlements, according to a Bloomberg report earlier in September.
- Citigroup has over 13,000 institutional clients including 90% of global Fortune 500 companies, according to the company website. Overall, it has over 100 million customers across nearly 160 countries.
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