UBS Successfully Tests Blockchain-Based Solution for Cross-Border Payments

Swiss bank UBS developed and successfully tested a blockchain-based payment solution designed to increase transparency and security of cross-border payments and speed up their processing.

UBS, the world’s largest private bank by AUM, announced the successful completion of the pilot payment solution, UBS Digital Cash. The new service is powered by a private blockchain and is designed for cross-border, multi-currency payments. 

UBS Digital Cash is set to boost efficiency and transparency of payments, as well as programmability of remittances for corporate and institutional clients. In addition, the solution simplifies intraday liquidity management and liquidity buffers adjustment through improved control of overall cash positions. 

Settlement within UBS Digital Cash is automated using smart contracts. The use of a decentralized ledger allows transactions to be processed around the clock in near real-time, regardless of the currency used.

During the pilot, a number of transactions involving UBS partners in different countries, as well as domestic transactions in Switzerland, were successfully completed. Cross-border payments were made in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs, euros, and Chinese yuan. The pilot also involved the transfer of liquidity between different UBS-managed entities. 

Andy Kollegger, Head of Institutional and Multinational Banking at UBS, said in a press release that blockchain-based solutions for cross-border payments are a strategic area of development for the bank. Accordingly, UBS plans to further develop and scale the success of UBS Digital Cash in the future. 

The UBS Digital Cash project complements UBS’s involvement in various market initiatives, including the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) Project Helvetia , which aims to test the local wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), and the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Project Agorá , which is testing tokenized commercial bank deposits in the context of cross-border payments.