SINGAPORE--()--OCBC and Ant International have formed a strategic partnership to enhance the efficiency and speed of cross-border fund settlements. In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 5 November 2024 by Melvyn Low, Head of Global Transaction Banking at OCBC, and Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, both parties agreed to explore innovations in tokenised deposits for global treasury management, through Ant International’s Whale platform.

This collaboration will focus on achieving around-the-clock cross border payments in real-time between Singapore and Malaysia through the Whale platform, a next-generation treasury management solution that utilises blockchain technology innovation, including advanced encryption and AI, to improve the efficiency and transparency of fund movements between bank accounts for better global liquidity management.

The MoU signifies an expansion of OCBC’s collaboration with Ant International, marking the first time the Singapore bank will embark on a tokenisation initiative with Ant International. In September 2023, OCBC joined Alipay+’s network, becoming the first bank in Singapore to offer customers cross-border global payments across Malaysia and South Korea.

Melvyn Low, Head of Global Transaction Banking, OCBC, said: “In this collaboration with Ant International, we will leverage our joint blockchain capabilities to enable faster, seamless multi-currency clearing and settlement for Ant International’s intra-group treasury and liquidity management. With the corporate treasury function becoming increasingly strategic and a key driver of a business’ bottom-line, this demonstration of how blockchain can help global businesses better meet their evolving treasury and liquidity needs is very timely. We look forward to developing more blockchain solutions to support our customers to navigate an increasingly complex world.”

Kelvin Li, Head of Platform Tech at Ant International, added: “We are pleased to expand our collaboration with OCBC in Singapore through this agreement. By partnering with one of the leading banks in Asia, we hope to combine OCBC’s deep knowledge of the Singapore and Malaysia markets, with Ant International’s technological expertise and innovations in blockchain, to develop more effective global treasury management solutions for businesses in Asia and beyond so they can trade and transact across borders more seamlessly.”

About OCBC

OCBC is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. It is one of the world’s most highly-rated banks, with Aa1 by Moody’s and AA- by both Fitch and S&P. OCBC is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets. The Group offers a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services. The Group’s key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has close to 420 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions.

About Ant International

Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International powers the future of global commerce with digital innovation for everyone and every business to thrive. In close collaboration with partners, we support merchants of all sizes worldwide to realise their growth aspirations through a comprehensive range of tech-driven digital payment and financial services solutions.