DBS survey: 88% of large firms use or pilot tokenized money for payments and cash management

Singapore's DBS has published survey results showing that tokenized money is moving quickly into corporate treasury and payments work. According to the bank, 88% of respondents reported either live deployments or pilot projects aimed at improving cash management and cross-border payments.

The research was conducted by EY on behalf of DBS and covered 422 business and finance leaders in 11 markets, among them the U.S., China, Germany and the U.K. All of the organizations involved had annual revenue above $500 million. Of those polled, 24% had deployed the technology at scale and 43% had limited live use in selected markets. A further 21% were running pilots or proofs of concept, while the remaining 12% were exploring the technology or not using it.

Stablecoins were the instrument most often used or planned, cited by 63% of respondents. Tokenized deposits followed at 53%, and tokenized money market funds at 52%. On benefits, 71% said they already saw gains in real-time cross-border payments or expected them within two years, and 65% said the same about treasury liquidity management.

Respondents also named obstacles, including regulatory uncertainty, security risks and difficulty integrating the new tools. Nearly two-thirds wanted banks to offer a single point of access to the tokenized money ecosystem, and 63% wanted support with pilots and integration. Lim Soon Chong, DBS's group head of global transaction services, said fragmentation may add complexity and compliance obligations for companies, and that the future would be shaped by trusted anchors able to orchestrate value movement across several networks.

DBS provides infrastructure of the kind the survey examines. It launched DBS Token Services in 2024, linking its permissioned blockchain with its payment systems to allow round-the-clock settlement and payments that follow preset conditions.

Other banks have reported corporate usage as well. Citi said at its May investor day that hundreds of clients were moving close to $1 billion a day through Citi Token Services, mainly for liquidity and working capital. In September, DBS and Citi completed a weekend dollar payment between Singapore and New York using tokenized deposits over the Swift Digital Ledger, which DBS said settled in minutes outside traditional banking hours.