Swiss bank UBS tests blockchain for cross-border payments with digital cash

UBS has successfully piloted its blockchain-based payment system to enhance the efficiency of cross-border transactions.

Multinational investment giant UBS has completed a pilot of its blockchain-based payment system dubbed “UBS Digital Cash,” aimed at improving the efficiency of cross-border transactions.

In a Nov. 7 press release, the Zurich-headquartered bank said the trial, which involved multinational clients and banks, included both domestic payments within Switzerland and cross-border transactions in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs, euros, and Chinese yuan.

The system uses a private blockchain network called “UBD Digital Cash,” accessible only to permissioned clients, with transactions settled through smart contracts that automatically execute once predefined conditions are met.

“Blockchain-based payment solutions for cross-border payments are a strategic focus for UBS.”

Andy Kollegger, head of UBS Institutional & Multinational Banking

Commenting on the milestone, Xiaonan Zou, UBS head digital assets says the bank considers the interoperability between UBS Digital Cash and other digital cash initiatives as “key for the financial industry.” The latest initiative complements UBS’s involvement in a wide range of market initiatives, the bank says, referring to the Swiss National Bank-led project Helvetia for real wholesale Swiss franc Central Bank Digital Currency, as well as the Agorá project, led by the Bank for International Settlements.

The pilot comes shortly after UBS launched its first tokenized investment fund on Ethereum, the UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund Token, targeted at authorized distribution partners in Singapore.