DBS and Citi Bring 24/7 Tokenized Dollar Payments to SWIFT’s Blockchain Ledger

DBS and Citi Bring 24/7 Tokenized Dollar Payments to SWIFT’s Blockchain Ledger​

DBS and Citi Bring 24/7 Tokenized Dollar Payments to SWIFT’s Blockchain Ledger​

Where Does This Leave XRP and XLM?

The development inevitably raises questions about XRP and XLM because both blockchain ecosystems have spent years targeting weaknesses in cross-border payments.

Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity model can use XRP as a bridge asset between currencies, removing the need for institutions to pre-fund accounts in destination markets. Ripple says its ODL infrastructure operates 24/7/365. Its broader Ripple Payments business now also supports stablecoins, including RLUSD, USDC, and USDT, alongside fiat settlement.

Stellar attacks a similar problem differently. Its network supports 24/7 settlement of multiple assets and connects financial institutions and payment providers through regulated on- and off-ramps. Importantly, XLM is the network's native token, but payments on Stellar do not necessarily have to use XLM as the asset being transferred.

SWIFT, therefore, isn't simply becoming "another XRP."

The competition is increasingly about architecture.

Ripple and Stellar demonstrate how value can move over public blockchain infrastructure. SWIFT is attempting to bring comparable always-on capabilities into the existing banking network using tokenized commercial bank money.

That could reduce one of crypto payment networks' strongest historical advantages: the fact that blockchains do not close on Friday evening.

But it does not necessarily eliminate their other selling points, particularly around liquidity, public-network interoperability, and moving between currencies without traditional correspondent relationships.

BRICS Is Building Another Payments Path​

There is also a geopolitical layer to the transformation.

BRICS countries have been exploring ways to connect their domestic fast-payment systems and central bank digital currencies to make cross-border transactions cheaper.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in August that options, including CBDC connectivity and links between fast-payment systems, were being discussed, while India continues its efforts to expand local-currency settlement and the international use of the rupee.

Brazil is simultaneously exploring a possible connection between Pix and the European Central Bank's TARGET Instant Payment Settlement system.

That is more concrete than the recurring idea of a single BRICS currency.

Claims that BRICS is preparing an imminent gold-backed common currency should be treated cautiously.

Current official developments are much more focused on connecting payment systems, CBDCs, and local currencies than on replacing national currencies with one gold-backed BRICS unit.

It is important because reducing dependence on dollar-based payment infrastructure does not automatically mean replacing the dollar itself.

Cross-Border Payments Race Has Changed​

What is emerging is not simply a contest between SWIFT and crypto.

There are now several competing models developing simultaneously: tokenized commercial bank deposits running through SWIFT; stablecoins such as USDC and RLUSD; public blockchain infrastructure, including XRP Ledger and Stellar; and government-backed payment and CBDC networks being explored by BRICS countries.

Even banks are moving toward stablecoins. A coalition of 21 financial institutions, including Citi, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank, announced plans last week to create a company targeting a dollar-stablecoin launch in 2027.

The DBS-Citi transaction, therefore, says something larger about where payments are heading.

Blockchain is no longer merely about building an alternative to traditional finance. Traditional finance is increasingly absorbing blockchain's strongest features.

For XRP, XLM, and other payment-focused networks, the question is shifting from whether blockchain can outperform legacy cross-border infrastructure to whether public blockchain networks can retain meaningful advantages once the legacy infrastructure itself becomes tokenized and always-on.

This article has been published in ccn.com via Yahoo News.

DBS and Citi Bring 24/7 Tokenized Dollar Payments to SWIFT’s Blockchain Ledger

DBS and Citi completed a live Singapore-to-US dollar payment on a Saturday using tokenized bank deposits and SWIFT’s blockchain-based Digital Ledger. The development places SWIFT ...

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