PAGA Case: Citi Token Services

PAGA Case: Citi Token Services

Description

Citi Token Services: a next-generation real-time treasury and trade working capital finance service that is digital, 24/7, and always-on for multinational clients, financial institutions, and municipalities. It addresses pain points in liquidity optimization and payment speeds in current settlement systems and reduces manual processes in the trade industry. 


Citi is focusing the development of tokenized bank liability solutions for two specific use cases:

  1. Citi Token Services for Cash (CTSC): Utilizes tokenized internal liquidity transfers on the blockchain to enable instant 24/7 money movement between accounts. Currently live in Singapore and US corridors for USD transfers. The client experience is seamless, without a need to hold tokens. The transfer of tokens happens in Citi’s back-end infrastructure facilitating the quicker settlement of regular Fiat currency between their branches. 

  2. Citi Token Services for Trade: leverages the same movement of money as described for CTSC and adds smart contracts for conditional payment mechanisms, removing paper documentation through a secure method that delivers speed and cost efficiency. Successfully piloted in North America with a canal authority and shipping company, with additional use cases and ecosystems being explored. 
Territory

Citi Token Services for Cash aims to revolutionize global liquidity management by enabling 24/7 payments and liquidity access, eliminating traditional payment frictions, and optimizing cash flow for corporate, commercial, and financial institutions in over 90 countries. 

Citi Token Services for Trade aims to transform the Trade Working Capital industry with an efficient, fully automated, 24/7 conditional payment mechanism, potentially impacting various industries and business segments globally.

Impact

Citi Token Services for Cash: Live in New York and Singapore branches for USD transactions, requiring Citibank NA accounts. It supports global cash pools, cross-border transactions, and just-in-time funding for multinational clients.

Citi Token Services for Trade: Helps to automate the conditional payments of good and services via smart contracts. Piloted in North America with a canal authority and shipping companies, it aims to commercialize in 2025, subject to approvals, and is exploring other use cases, including outside the US.

Participants

Citi is a global financial institution. The solution and underlying technology are wholly owned and developed by Citi. Citi leverages a private permissioned instance of Ethereum through Hyperledger Besu. 

Year of introduction

Citi Token Services for Cash: Successfully tested in 2023, with pilot transactions completed in 2024, now live in New York and Singapore branches. 

Citi Token Services for Trade: Successfully tested in 2023, with pilot transactions completed in 2024, expected to go live in the US for a specific canal authority use case later in 2024 or early 2025. 

Best practices and lessons learned

When implementing new solutions like Citi Token Services for Cash and Trade, it is fundamental to prioritize safety and soundness, ensuring all regulatory, legal, and internal control requirements are met. Therefore, it is important to collaborate closely with regulators, proactively involving them throughout the development process. 

Public materials

Submitter

Biswarup Chatterjee
Managing Director, Global Head of Partnerships and Innovation | Citi, Services 
biswarup.chatterjee@citi.com 

The Citi Token Services effort is managed by:

  • Ryan Rugg 
    Global Head of TTS Digital Assets 
  • Ambrish Bansal 
    Global Head of Liquidity and Cash Concentration 
  • Valeria Sica 
    Global Head of Trade Data, Partnership and Innovation

Disclaimer

The information and examples presented herein are provided for informational purposes only and do not represent the official position or views of the World Economic Forum or the IDB Lab. The World Economic Forum and the IDB Lab do not endorse, recommend, or advocate for the implementation of any specific practices, policies, or approaches described. Rather, this content simply showcases examples and perspectives shared by members of our PAGA Community.

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