Ant International Helps HSBC Hong Kong Offer Tokenized Deposits

Ant International has teamed with HSBC on the bank’s tokenized deposit service in Hong Kong.

The service is designed to support treasury management via real-time, “always-on” Hong Kong and U.S. dollar payments between corporate wallets held by an HSBC Hong Kong client, according to a Thursday (May 22) press release.

In addition, the service is also Hong Kong’s first bank-led, blockchain-based settlement service, and follows a pilot test between HSBC and Ant International on Ant’s Whale platform.

“We are very excited to work with an industry leader like HSBC, who shares the belief that tokenisation is the key to bridging the stability of traditional banking with the efficiency of blockchain, to enable real-time treasury management,” Kelvin Li, general manager of platform tech at Ant International, said in the release.

“As a tech connector in the fast-evolving financial services industry, our banking partnerships are expanding from tokenization to AI-driven global FX and liquidity initiatives. We look forward to working with more public and private-sector partners to unlock more transparent, accessible and efficient treasury management solutions for businesses worldwide.”

The partnership is happening at a moment when, as covered here last month, money and assets are experiencing a transformation thanks to tokenization on the blockchain.

“On-chain tokenization is moving from concept to practice, with players like Visa, Mastercard, J.P. Morgan, and other commercial banks exploring or piloting real-world tokenized payment and financial systems,” PYMNTS wrote.

“For chief financial officers and corporate treasurers, tokenization isn’t just a tech issue; it could represent a capital strategy shift.”

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink also wants all assets to be tokenized and tradable online, telling shareholders: “Every stock, every bond, every fund — every asset — can be tokenized.”

At its most basic level, tokenization refers to representing real-world assets like fiat currency, securities and investment contracts as digital tokens on a distributed ledger. From there, these tokens can be transferred, programmed, or settled in ways traditional systems don’t allow.

Tokenization “isn’t a cryptocurrency play,” that report added, but rather a way for businesses and financial services stakeholders to move value faster, cheaper, and more securely across networks. It’s also a way to modernize money movement while democratizing investment access to institutional-grade products.

“Banks are in the state where they are thinking about blockchains as public infrastructure that they need to rely on,” Chainalysis Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Levin told PYMNTS. “Back in 2014 … cryptocurrency only meant blockchains that had native cryptocurrency tokens. Today, people are putting all types of financial instruments on the blockchain.”