November 20, 2025
By Anjali Kochhar
UBS, the Swiss banking group, has entered into a strategic partnership with Ant International to develop blockchain powered solutions for real time cross border payments, settlement, and liquidity management. The agreement formalises growing cooperation between the global financial institution and one of the world’s leading fintech and digital payments companies.
The partnership was confirmed through a Memorandum of Understanding signed at UBS’s flagship office at 9 Penang Road in Singapore. Under the agreement, Ant International will begin using UBS Digital Cash, a blockchain based payments and settlement platform that UBS introduced in 2024. The platform enables secure and transparent transfers and is built specifically for high volume treasury operations.
By adopting UBS Digital Cash across its global operations, Ant International aims to streamline its internal cross border treasury flows and gain the ability to manage payments in multiple currencies in real time. UBS will also apply its blockchain experience to help enhance and expand the technical capabilities of Ant International’s systems in areas related to settlement speed, liquidity visibility and operational efficiency.
A core element of the partnership is the exploration of tokenized deposits. The project will be developed around Ant International’s treasury platform known as Whale. Whale is a blockchain native system designed for real time multi currency fund movements across Ant’s entities worldwide. It removes the restrictions associated with traditional banking cut off times and provides instant visibility over liquidity positions.
Young Jin Yee, Co Head of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and Head of UBS in Singapore, said the new collaboration builds on the progress demonstrated during last year’s UBS Digital Cash pilot. She stated that combining the strengths of UBS in digital asset innovation with Ant International’s blockchain capabilities will help the two companies deliver a new standard of transparency and efficiency in cross border transactions.
Kelvin Li, Global Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International, expressed confidence in the collaboration and described UBS as a global banking leader with proven expertise in blockchain technology. He emphasized that both organisations share the belief that blockchain and tokenisation will reshape the way international payments and liquidity management are conducted.
The partnership highlights the commitment of both firms to advancing digital innovation. For UBS, it supports a long term strategy of expanding its leadership in digital assets and tokenisation while offering its clients more advanced global liquidity and payments solutions.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency and blockchain stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over four years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
