CIMB Group Holdings Berhad has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ant International to jointly explore innovations in cross-border payments, as well as treasury and liquidity management solutions. The collaboration brings together CIMB’s regional banking capabilities with Ant International’s payment and digital finance technologies.
Under the agreement, CIMB will work with Ant International’s key business units including Alipay+, Antom and Bettr Treasury. The partnership spans CIMB’s integrated offerings in cash management, treasury and markets solutions, credit and financing facilities, capital markets activities and sustainability-related initiatives.
As part of the MOU, CIMB and Ant International plan to jointly develop a digital framework to enhance treasury and liquidity operations. The framework will leverage Ant International’s blockchain-based treasury management solution and will be subject to regulatory approvals. Both parties say the initiative aims to strengthen capital efficiency, transparency and cross-border liquidity optimisation.
CIMB Group CEO Novan Amirudin described the partnership as a milestone under the bank’s Forward30 strategy, adding that the collaboration will accelerate institutional adoption of distributed ledger technology within the treasury ecosystem. He said the move positions CIMB to build scalable, future-ready digital financial infrastructure across ASEAN while improving cross-border connectivity for clients.
Meanwhile, Ant International president Douglas Feagin said the partnership reflects a shared goal of leveraging technology to enable seamless and inclusive cross-border payments. He added that scaling institutional adoption of tokenisation, a process that represents assets or value digitally on a blockchain, forms a key pillar of next-generation financial infrastructure.
The initiative also builds on CIMB’s participation in Bank Negara Malaysia’s Digital Assets Innovation Hub and its broader digital transformation agenda. Both parties stated that development of the framework will focus on practical implementation while maintaining strong governance standards.
On related developments, Ant International worked with PayNet last year to enable selected international Alipay+ users to make payments via DuitNow QR at Malaysian merchants. It also partnered with TNG Digital, the operator of Touch ‘n Go eWallet, on initiatives including cross-border payment acceptance and enhanced digital transaction security. More recently, both companies collaborated on ePOS360 and Bluetap-related solutions aimed at strengthening merchant services and payment capabilities.
Treasury And Liquidity Management Explained
Treasury management refers to how a company manages its cash, investments, funding and financial risks. Large corporations and financial institutions must ensure they have sufficient liquidity (readily available cash or assets) to meet obligations such as payroll, supplier payments or debt servicing.
Liquidity management, meanwhile, focuses on optimising where and how cash is held across different accounts, currencies and jurisdictions. For banks and multinational firms operating across ASEAN, efficient cross-border liquidity management can improve capital efficiency, reduce idle cash balances and strengthen resilience against market volatility.
(Source: CIMB press release)
