Citi has expanded its blockchain based Token Services into Japan, giving institutional clients access to 24/7 US dollar transfers at a time when Japanese banks and companies are building stablecoins for some of the same payment uses.
Summary
- Citi Token Services now allows eligible clients in Japan to move US dollars around the clock using tokenized bank deposits.
- The service offers institutions another route for cross border payments without requiring them to hold or redeem stablecoins.
- Japanese banks are developing stablecoins for similar payment uses, with MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho targeting live transactions by March 2027.
- Stablecoins retain uses beyond Citi’s network, including retail payments, public blockchain transfers and digital asset settlement.
According to Citi, the service is now live in Japan and the United Arab Emirates, bringing its footprint to seven markets including the United States, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Japan will support US dollar transactions, while clients in the UAE can move both dollars and euros.
Citi Token Services uses tokenized bank deposits on a private permissioned blockchain. Clients with eligible accounts can transfer funds between supported Citi markets without being limited by normal banking cut off times or holiday calendars.
For Japanese companies looking primarily for faster international dollar payments, the service introduces another option at a time when stablecoin projects are targeting corporate settlements and cross border transfers.
Citi Token Services brings stablecoin like payments inside banking
Citi said its token service allows liquidity to move near instantly across its global network and has already processed billions of dollars in transactions.
Unlike stablecoins such as USDC or Japan’s JPYC, Citi’s tokens represent deposits held within the bank. Clients do not need to move money into an independently issued stablecoin before transferring it through the network.
Stephen Randall, Citi’s global head of Liquidity Management Services, said the Japan and UAE expansion would give clients “greater optionality to move and manage liquidity across regions and currencies in real-time.”
Japan’s role in the network is focused on dollars. Kanika Thakur, Citi’s head of Services for Japan, Asia North and Australia, said the service allows USD transactions to move into and out of Japan in real time while giving corporate and financial institution treasurers another way to manage capital.
The model puts tokenized bank deposits and stablecoins into closer competition for some institutional payment flows.
For a company already holding money with Citi, funds can remain as commercial bank deposits while gaining round the clock transfer capabilities. A stablecoin based route could require the company to acquire the token, transfer it over a supported blockchain and redeem it when conventional bank money is required again.
Citi has been working to connect the service with payment infrastructure outside its own accounts. Its 24/7 USD Clearing system is designed to connect Citi Token Services with non Citi accounts and financial institutions, extending round the clock dollar payments beyond transfers between the bank’s own branches.
As crypto.news previously reported, a weekend dollar payment between DBS and Citi in September showed how tokenized commercial bank deposits can move internationally outside conventional banking hours. The banks completed a Singapore to US transfer within minutes on a Saturday using the Swift Digital Ledger.
Global Settlement Network CEO Ryan Kirkley cautioned at the time that completing a transaction on a digital ledger does not necessarily prove every underlying obligation reaches final legal settlement at the same moment. Some funding or reconciliation processes could still depend on traditional banking infrastructure.
Japan’s stablecoin plans target some of the same payments
Citi’s entry comes while Japanese financial institutions are preparing their own blockchain based payment systems.
MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank are preparing a joint stablecoin framework and plan to begin live transactions during fiscal 2026, which ends in March 2027.
The banks have been working on common rules covering issuance infrastructure, governance, operating processes and systems. A Financial Services Agency backed proof of concept previously tested corporate cross border payments involving Mitsubishi Corporation’s offices in Japan and overseas.
Progmat provided the blockchain infrastructure for the trial, while Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation handled the planned trust based issuance structure.
Cross border payments are therefore one area where Citi’s tokenized deposits could overlap directly with Japanese stablecoin projects.
Japan’s stablecoin development goes beyond the country’s largest banks. Toshiba and 25 other companies, financial institutions and public sector participants recently joined a six month EJPY trial examining potential uses for a yen denominated stablecoin.
The program is scheduled to run through February 2027 and covers domestic payments, remittances, business to business settlements, cross border transactions and payments involving tokenized assets.
Participants receive EJPY test tokens, wallets and access to Japan Open Chain infrastructure. Japan Blockchain Foundation has said each organization can develop potential applications based on its own business requirements before deciding whether to launch a commercial service.
Stablecoins retain uses outside Citi’s network
Competition becomes less direct outside institutional treasury and cross border banking.
Stablecoins can move through blockchain wallets and public networks without requiring both sides of a transaction to operate inside the same bank’s infrastructure. Japan’s developing market is already testing that model in retail, logistics and digital asset settlement.
Convenience store operator Lawson expanded a stablecoin trial in August to include JPYC, USDC and USDT at two Tokyo stores.
Customers participating in the tests used digital wallets at checkout, while Lawson processed the transactions through its existing point of sale registers. The company said it would assess transaction speed, system integration and store operations before deciding whether to introduce stablecoin payments more widely.
Corporate uses are developing outside conventional treasury transfers as well. Japanese logistics company AZ COM Maruwa Holdings has outlined plans to use JPYC for payments involving roughly 2,300 business partners and contractors, including truck drivers.
JPYC itself operates as a regulated electronic payment instrument and maintains a one to one link with the yen using yen denominated deposits and Japanese government bonds as reserves. The token is available across public blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Avalanche and Polygon.
Such uses fall outside the main function Citi is offering Japanese institutional clients through Token Services.
Citi is working with stablecoins too
Citi’s digital asset strategy is not limited to tokenized deposits.
The bank has been developing infrastructure that connects conventional financial systems with blockchain networks while exploring stablecoins alongside its own tokenized deposit products.
Citi and Coinbase expanded their collaboration on Sept. 28 to connect digital and fiat payments for corporations and consumers. The arrangement includes stablecoin related payment capabilities alongside Citi’s existing banking infrastructure.
Citi’s work on other blockchain payment networks has moved ahead at the same time. Earlier in September, the bank completed live dollar transactions with First Abu Dhabi Bank and OCBC using Swift’s blockchain based ledger. DBS and United Overseas Bank were expected to join similar transactions later in the month.
The Swift system is being developed around tokenized commercial bank money. A shared blockchain ledger unveiled earlier this year brought together major banks including Citi, HSBC, UBS and BNP Paribas to work on round the clock cross border payments using tokenized deposits.
Japan’s stablecoin projects, meanwhile, are still moving toward more commercial deployments. MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho are targeting live transactions by March 2027, while the EJPY testing program will continue through February as participants examine payments, remittances, digital asset settlement and other possible uses.
