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Finextra — Payments
Citi processes live transactions on Swift's blockchain-based ledger
WHAT HAPPENED
A Citi announcement republished by Finextra says Citi completed live U.S.-dollar transactions with First Abu Dhabi Bank and OCBC on Swift's blockchain-based ledger, covering the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Citi expects DBS and UOB to conduct similar transactions later in September. The controlled proof of concept runs from July through December 2026 and uses tokenized deposits for instant payment commitment while retaining existing settlement models, including RTGS, for final settlement.
PUBLISHED September 3, 2026SOURCE Finextra — PaymentsLANE Payment infrastructure
KEY FIGURES
July-December 2026
Controlled proof-of-concept period
2 (FAB and OCBC)
Banks with completed Citi transactions named in the release
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Watch whether follow-up sources disclose confirmed customers, supported markets, pricing, transaction activity, and a primary-source update.
Finextra republishes a Citi announcement without independent editing; Citi's primary release corroborates the participants, completed pilot transactions and proof-of-concept period. Benefits and wider product metrics remain company claims, and no pilot-level volume or performance result is disclosed.
The page already presents the summary and analysis. This section keeps only the copy, download, and technical source record without repeating the same reading view.
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# Citi processes live transactions on Swift's blockchain-based ledger
> Evidence tier: B1
> Evidence type: Citi company announcement republished by Finextra and corroborated by Citi's primary release
> Source: [Finextra — Payments](https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/110803/citi-processes-live-transactions-on-swifts-blockchain-based-ledger)
> Published: 2026-09-03
> Captured: 2026-09-03T12:37:44.880Z
## Source summary
A Citi announcement republished by Finextra says Citi completed live U.S.-dollar transactions with First Abu Dhabi Bank and OCBC on Swift's blockchain-based ledger, covering the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Citi expects DBS and UOB to conduct similar transactions later in September. The controlled proof of concept runs from July through December 2026 and uses tokenized deposits for instant payment commitment while retaining existing settlement models, including RTGS, for final settlement.
## Why it matters
This is a live, multi-bank cross-border pilot rather than another design announcement, but it is not broad production availability. Citi's claims of 24/7 service, faster beneficiary credit and better liquidity are intended benefits; the sources disclose no pilot transaction amount, customer access, fees, measured settlement-time improvement, failure rate or production volume. Citi's 300-plus bank clients for 24/7 USD Clearing and roughly USD 1 billion processed by Citi Token Services describe wider products, not this Swift pilot.
## Key numbers
- **Controlled proof-of-concept period:** July-December 2026
- **Banks with completed Citi transactions named in the release:** 2 (FAB and OCBC)
## Topics and entities
- Industry lane: Payment infrastructure
- Entities: Citi / Swift / FAB / OCBC
- Payment infrastructure
- Cross-border payments
- Web3 payments
## Evidence and credibility note
Finextra republishes a Citi announcement without independent editing; Citi's primary release corroborates the participants, completed pilot transactions and proof-of-concept period. Benefits and wider product metrics remain company claims, and no pilot-level volume or performance result is disclosed.
Date evidence: Finextra RSS and article metadata dated September 3, 2026; Citi's primary release dated September 2, 2026
## First-party corroboration
- [https://www.citigroup.com/global/news/press-release/2026/citi-services-pioneers-live-transactions-swift-ledger-fab-ocbc-redefine-always-on-global-payments](/en/items/https://www.citigroup.com/global/news/press-release/2026/citi-services-pioneers-live-transactions-swift-ledger-fab-ocbc-redefine-always-on-global-payments)
## Original-source traceback
[Open the original Finextra — Payments report](https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/110803/citi-processes-live-transactions-on-swifts-blockchain-based-ledger)
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This is a structured Payments Hot Markdown source summary derived from external reporting. Use the original link above to read the publisher's article; copyright remains with the original publisher.