Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank ( SCB ) is the first financial institution client globally to go live with US-headquartered lender Citi’s newly integrated 24/7 USD Clearing and Citi Token Services solution, which enables near real-time, round-the-clock, cross-border US dollar payments for its corporate and institutional clients.

This collaboration is a demonstration of both institutions’ commitment to digital innovation as a driver of commercial growth. For The Siam Commercial Bank, the adoption of 24/7 USD Clearing with Citi Token Services, SCB notes, represents a strategic investment in next-generation payment infrastructure. For Citi, this is the next milestone in its 24/7 clearing solutions and digital assets strategy to meet clients’ evolving needs in an always-on world.

With Citi’s 24/7 USD Clearing solution, clients will be able to initiate and receive USD payments at any time - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – with near-instant settlement, thereby eliminating the friction that has historically limited global payment operations.

Citi Token Services leverages a private permissioned blockchain, operating entirely within the regulated banking system, to tokenize deposits held within Citi's global network.

When integrated with Citi's 24/7 USD Clearing solution, which connects over 300 financial institutions across more than 50 markets, the result, the bank stresses, “is a frictionless, always-on payment corridor that bridges Citi and non-Citi accounts globally”.

The first transaction was completed by Phillip Securities Thailand, a subsidiary of PhillipCapital and a client of SCB. US dollar funds were transferred from a Citi London account maintained by Phillip Capital, another PhillipCapital subsidiary, to the beneficiary account with SCB in Thailand over a US holiday weekend.

“This transaction,” the banks argue, “demonstrates how corporates and financial institutions can leverage Citi’s integrated solution for cross-border, always-on payments across banks and jurisdictions.”