In a quiet shift that has moved faster than even its own early champions expected, businesses across the world are beginning to make tokenised money part of ordinary commerce. A DBS survey of 422 large firms, each earning more than US$500 million a year, finds that 88% have either put tokenised money to work or are testing it in pilots, with stablecoins in the lead. The movement reflects a long human pursuit of money that moves more freely, settles more cleanly, and reaches new markets with less friction, and it hints that the next chapter of trade may also be shaped by which currencies firms
Nearly 90% of Businesses Are Deploying or Piloting Tokenised Money, DBS Survey Finds
Nearly nine in ten large firms have deployed or are piloting tokenised money
Mark
Eighty-eight percent sounds like nearly everyone has adopted tokenised money. Is that the right way to read it?
Mimi
Not quite. That number combines companies that have deployed it with those that are only piloting. The firmer figure is roughly two-thirds who have deployed at scale or started using it in selected locations.
Luke
And it's DBS's own survey, of 422 large firms with revenue over US$500 million. That's not businesses in general, so I'd be careful about stretching it to the wider economy.
Mark
Why are stablecoins ahead of tokenised deposits?
Mimi
Lim Soon Chong says they work better across payment intermediaries, not just banks, and involve less permissioning hassle.
Luke
Worth noting that's his interpretation, as he put it. The survey measured adoption rates, not the reasons behind them.
Mark
The yuan finding is a bit different from the rest.
Mimi
It is. More than half of respondents in Australia and Britain are considering yuan trade settlement within one to two years, and DBS says Chinese exporters are offering better terms in yuan.
Luke
Considering isn't doing. And the claim that the yuan's appreciation drives this comes from DBS, not from the survey numbers themselves.
Mark
So what should a reader watch?
Mimi
Whether pilots become full deployments, and whether that yuan interest turns into real settlement.
Luke
Also unknown from this report: how many of the 88% are pilots versus live use, and how the results break down by country.
El Pulso
- Tokenised money has spread to 88% of surveyed large firms, with many moving well beyond the testing stage.
- Stablecoins lead at 63%, pulling ahead of tokenised deposits at 53% and tokenised money market funds at 52%.
- Companies are turning to tokenised money to manage liquidity more smoothly and to open doors to new markets, with South-east Asia at the front of the queue.
- Over half of Australian and British respondents are weighing yuan trade settlement within one to two years, as Chinese exporters offer sweeter terms and Beijing pushes the renminbi abroad.
In a quiet shift that has moved faster than even its own early champions expected, businesses across the world are beginning to make tokenised money part of ordinary commerce. A DBS survey of 422 large firms, each earning more than US$500 million a year, finds that 88% have either put tokenised money to work or are testing it in pilots, with stablecoins in the lead. The movement reflects a long human pursuit of money that moves more freely, settles more cleanly, and reaches new markets with less friction, and it hints that the next chapter of trade may also be shaped by which currencies firms choose to trust.
Lim Soon Chong, who leads global transaction services at DBS Bank in Singapore, says the spread of tokenised money among businesses has surprised him and his colleagues. The bank's survey, run between June and July, found that 88% of the 422 leaders polled, drawn from eleven markets including the United States, Britain, Australia, China and Germany, have either deployed tokenised money or are piloting it. Most are looking for better ways to manage liquidity and to reach new markets.
Stablecoins are the most common choice, adopted by 63% of respondents, ahead of tokenised deposits and tokenised money market funds. Lim believes their appeal lies in greater fungibility across payment intermediaries, not just banks, and in less cumbersome permissioning. South-east Asia emerged as the top destination for firms seeking new markets, followed by Australia and New Zealand, then India.
The currency findings drew particular attention. More than half of respondents in Australia and Britain are considering settling trade in Chinese yuan within the next one to two years. DBS attributes this to the yuan's recent appreciation and to Chinese exporters offering better terms on yuan-denominated deals. Lim links the trend to Beijing's push to internationalise the renminbi. The open questions now are whether firms move from pilots to full deployment, and whether the interest in yuan settlement becomes real practice.
Lim Soon Chong, the group head of global transaction services at DBS Bank in Singapore, says tokenised money is spreading among businesses faster than he and his colleagues expected. His comments follow a survey the bank ran, which found that 88% of the businesses polled have either deployed tokenised money use cases or are piloting them.
The survey was conducted between June and July. DBS polled 422 business and finance leaders worldwide, all at organisations with annual revenue above US$500 million (S$640.9 million). Respondents came from 11 markets, among them the United States, Britain, Australia, China and Germany.
The headline figure covers both deployment and pilots. Narrowing it down, roughly two-thirds of respondents said their businesses had either fully deployed tokenised money at scale or begun using it in selected locations. Businesses, Lim said, are looking to improve how they manage liquidity and to reach new markets.
The survey also asked which instruments companies were using. Stablecoins were the most widely adopted at 63%. Tokenised deposits followed at 53%, and tokenised money market funds at 52%.
Lim offered a reading of why stablecoins lead. "Our interpretation is that there are significant benefits that stablecoins offer," he said. He explained that they offer better fungibility across payment intermediaries, not only across banks, and that they are less cumbersome when it comes to permissioning.
The survey turned up findings on expansion and currency as well. South-east Asia ranked as the top destination for businesses looking to enter new markets. Australia and New Zealand came next, with India third.
On currency, more than half of respondents in both Australia and Britain said they were considering using the Chinese yuan for trade settlement over the next one to two years. DBS said the yuan's recent appreciation is making settlement in the currency more attractive to Chinese exporters, who are increasingly offering better commercial terms on transactions denominated in it.
Lim tied that to policy in Beijing. "The Chinese authorities are clearly pushing the internationalisation of the renminbi (yuan), so we expect this to go up," he said.
Two things are worth watching: whether the share of businesses moving from pilots to full deployment grows, and whether the yuan settlement interest among Australian and British firms turns into actual practice within the one-to-two-year window they described.
Citas Notables
Stablecoins offer better fungibility across payment intermediaries, not just across banks, and are less cumbersome from a permissioning standpoint.— Lim Soon Chong, group head of global transaction services, DBS Bank
The Chinese authorities are clearly pushing the internationalisation of the renminbi, so we expect this to go up.— Lim Soon Chong, DBS Bank
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