Ant International expands HSBC partnership for tokenised treasury services

By Divya Shah

Ant International expanded its collaboration with HSBC to strengthen real-time treasury management capabilities in the Middle East by leveraging the bank’s Tokenised Deposit Service (TDS). 

As part of the initiative, Ant International completed pilot transactions across two payment corridors linking the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. The transactions included real-time tokenised deposit transfers denominated in UAE dirhams within the UAE, as well as cross-border US dollar payments initiated from the UAE to international markets, including Hong Kong and Singapore.  

The transactions were initiated through WhaleRTP, Ant International’s blockchain-based real-time treasury management platform, and were executed in real time using HSBC’s TDS infrastructure. The transaction workflow was jointly designed by the two companies, making Ant International HSBC’s first client in the Middle East to utilise the service. 

Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech and Senior Vice President at Ant International, said, “With the support of regional bank partners such as HSBC, we aim to establish a global treasury hub in the Middle East in the near future to better support our global operations. We look forward to contributing to the development of the region’s rapidly growing digital finance ecosystem.”  

Since 2019, Ant International has used blockchain and tokenised deposit technologies to support treasury management activities across key financial hubs, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe and the United States. WhaleRTP is currently supported by more than 20 global banking partners, including HSBC, and facilitates real-time fund transfers in over 17 currencies such as the US dollar, Hong Kong dollar and UAE dirham. 

The Middle East expansion is expected to support Ant International’s regional growth strategy while enhancing services offered through its businesses, including Alipay+, Antom and WorldFirst, to local enterprises and travellers. 

Kyle Boag, Regional Head of Global Payments Solutions at HSBC MENAT, said interoperability between tokenised deposit networks could help corporates address challenges related to liquidity management, cash visibility and cross-market fund movements. 

HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service is currently available in six markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the UK, the US and the UAE. The platform supports multiple currencies, including CNH, HKD, SGD, EUR, GBP, USD and AED, providing corporate clients with round-the-clock access to liquidity while maintaining the benefits of HSBC’s existing banking infrastructure and oversight.