Conference-goers who visited OCBC's booth display during the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 were in for a treat: they were the first to get a taste of how the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)' central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could be used for instantaneous interbank settlement. Visitors were able to avail of 5 Digital Singapore Dollars from OCBC, which they were then able to spend at the UOB booth. The Digital Singapore Dollars were issued by OCBC and UOB and are fungible across each other.
Whilst such digital novelties may seem routine to a country where almost 1 in 2 payment transactions are done electronically, the real magic lies behind the scenes: atomic settlement. Institutions, such as OCBC and UOB in this case, will no longer need to wait days for the transaction to be settled in the back end. It can happen instantaneously.
Blockchain expertise
This story is from the Issue 113 edition of Asian Banking & Finance.
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This story is from the Issue 113 edition of Asian Banking & Finance.
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