Citi’s blockchain payment network, already operating in five markets, is expanding into Japan and the United Arab Emirates as the bank continues to build out its stablecoin and digital assets capabilities.
Citi Token Services will give multinational clients in those countries a way to move money across borders outside of traditional banking hours, including nights and weekends. Japan will initially support dollar-backed transactions, while clients in the UAE will be able to move both dollars and euros.
Meeting Clients Where They Are
The expansion extends Citi’s network into markets where many of its international clients already operate. Japan is the world’s fourth-largest economy, while the UAE has become a major financial hub connecting the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia—with significant cross-border payment activity and a growing presence of multinational treasury operations.
Citi says its private blockchain platform now processes billions of dollars in transactions, moving tokenized commercial bank deposits in near real-time. With the latest additions, Citi Token Services will be available in seven markets, including the U.S., UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
“Multinational businesses want to move money when they need it without waiting for banking hours or holiday cutoffs,” said Joel Hugentobler, Cryptocurrency Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Banks have an incentive to meet that demand or risk losing those client relationships.”
A Broader Digital Assets Strategy
Citi also expanded its collaboration with Coinbase, giving corporate clients new ways to support stablecoin payments. Through the arrangement, Citi’s institutional clients will be able to accept stablecoin payments through its Spring by Citi platform. Coinbase, meanwhile, will use Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet to allow customers to accept, hold and pay in fiat currency while automatically converting incoming funds into stablecoins.
Together, the developments highlight how blockchain and stablecoins are becoming part of the broader infrastructure for cross-border payments and treasury management. As these capabilities expand across markets and payment types, banks and their corporate clients will also face a growing need to integrate them into existing payment and treasury workflows without adding operational complexity.
“To me, this points to a multiple digital money ecosystem where there’s no clear winner,” said Hugentobler. “As we look toward, 2027, businesses will care most about which option gets their money where it needs to go reliably at the right price. They won’t care which option.”