Citi Debuts Token Services for Cash Cross-Border Payments Tool

Group 1 - Citi has launched its Token Services for Cash program, which processes multimillion-dollar transactions and provides 24/7 cross-border liquidity and payments between participating branches [1] - The service utilizes a private and permissioned blockchain owned and managed by Citi, eliminating the need for clients to hold or manage tokens [1] - The implementation of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts aims to reduce costs and streamline processes for institutional clients [1] Group 2 - Citi's Token Services for Trade has successfully completed pilot transactions with shipping agents, marking its first real-world application in global shipping [2] - The service replaces traditional trade finance instruments like guarantees and letters of credit with smart contracts backed by tokenized cash, facilitating real-time transactions [2] - Traditional cross-border payment systems often incur high fees, with consumer payments averaging over 11%, which can diminish the value of smaller transactions [2] Group 3 - B2B payments face average fees of 1.5% and processing delays of several weeks, with nearly half of Citibank's corporate clients citing high costs as a significant issue [3] - Blockchain technology addresses these inefficiencies by enabling direct transactions without intermediaries, potentially completing transactions in seconds instead of days [3] - Research indicates that permissioned decentralized finance (DeFi) could reduce transaction costs by up to 80% compared to traditional methods [3]