Overview

• UBS, PostFinance and Sygnum ran a Swiss Bankers Association–coordinated proof of concept that settled interbank payments on a public blockchain using deposit tokens.
• The setup operated on Ethereum within a permissioned framework using a shared smart contract that enforced role-based access, AML/CTF checks and sanctions screening.
• Two flows were validated: a cross-bank peer-to-peer transfer between customers and an escrow-style swap of deposit tokens for tokenized real-world assets.
• UBS’s Christoph Puhr said public-chain interoperability for bank money can become a reality, while Sygnum’s Thomas Frei described tokenized deposits as an alternative to stablecoins and noted further work is required.
• Participants said scaling will need broader bank participation, deeper infrastructure integration and regulatory coordination, with potential next steps including native on-chain accounts, automated RTGS triggers and links to wholesale CBDC.