Singapore-based fintech Ant International has expanded collaboration with London-headquartered lender HSBC to enhance real-time treasury management services in the Middle East.

By leveraging the bank’s global tokenized deposit service ( TDS ), the fintech aims to improve the efficiency of its treasury operations across the region.

As part of the collaboration, the fintech has successfully completed pilot transactions across two payment corridors connecting the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) and Hong Kong:

• Intra-UAE dirham transfers: Real-time, dirham-denominated tokenized deposit transactions within the UAE.
• Cross-border US dollar payments initiated from the UAE: US dollar-denominated tokenized deposit transfers between the UAE and international markets, including Hong Kong and Singapore.

These transactions, the companies point out, were initiated via WhaleRTP – the fintech’s proprietary, blockchain-based real-time treasury management platform – and executed in real-time through the bank’s TDS. Both companies jointly designed the transaction workflow. This collaboration makes the fintech the bank’s first client in the Middle East to use its TDS service.

Since 2019, Ant International has used blockchain and tokenized deposit technologies to support real-time treasury management across major financial centres, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe and the United States.

WhaleRTP is currently supported by more than 20 leading global banks, including HSBC, and enables real-time transfers in more than 17 currencies, including the US dollar, Hong Kong dollar and UAE dirham.

The expansion into the Middle East will support the fintech’s regional growth and help its businesses, including Alipay+, Antom and WorldFirst, serve local enterprises and travellers more effectively.

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The bank’s TDS is already live in six markets: Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the US, UK and UAE.

“With the support of regional bank partners, such as HSBC,” says Kelvin Li, the fintech’s general manager of platform tech and senior vice-president, “we aim to establish a global treasury hub in the Middle East in the near future to better support our global operations.”

Kyle Boag, the bank’s regional head of global payments solutions for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Turkey region, adds: “Interoperability between tokenized deposit networks demonstrates how HSBC can connect different infrastructures to deliver greater value for our clients. For corporates, this means addressing practical challenges, such as moving liquidity across markets and financial institutions, and improving cash visibility.”