Nearly 90% of businesses are turning to tokenised money, DBS survey shows

A recent DBS survey reveals that an overwhelming 88% of businesses have already adopted tokenised money or are currently testing its use cases. Lim Soon Chong, the head of global transaction services at Singapore's DBS bank, shared these findings during a recent interview.

The survey, conducted between June and July, polled 422 global business and finance leaders from large organisations with annual revenues surpassing $500 million. These companies are spread across 11 markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, and Germany. Roughly two-thirds of the respondents reported either full deployment of tokenised money at scale or its use in select locations.

Stablecoins emerged as the most popular tokenised instrument, with 63% of respondents citing their adoption. Tokenised deposits came in second at 53%, while tokenised money market funds rounded out the top three at 52%. Lim emphasized the benefits of stablecoins, noting their improved fungibility across payment intermediaries and their less cumbersome permissioning process compared to traditional banking systems.

Southeast Asia emerged as the leading destination for businesses seeking to expand into new markets, followed by Australia and New Zealand, with India in third place. Over half of the respondents from Australia and the UK expressed interest in using the Chinese renminbi for trade settlement within the next one to two years. The rising value of the renminbi is making it increasingly attractive for Chinese exporters, who are offering more favorable commercial terms for transactions denominated in the currency.

Lim also pointed out that Chinese authorities are actively promoting the internationalisation of the renminbi, which he expects will continue to drive adoption.