DBS-EY survey: 67% of large corporates already using tokenised money

A survey commissioned by DBS Bank and conducted by EY across large corporates with annual revenues of at least $500 million found that 67% have adopted tokenised money in some form. Of that cohort, 24% are operating at scale while 43% have deployed in limited geographies; a further 21% remain in pilot phase. The figures suggest meaningful penetration beyond proof-of-concept, though the dataset carries a notable compositional bias: more than 70% of respondents are drawn from eight Asia-Pacific countries, which likely flatters the global headline number.

The benefits data tracks closely with the adoption tiers. Roughly a fifth of respondents report already realising benefits, broadly consistent with the 24% at scale, while between 39% and 48% expect to see gains within two years, aligning with the cohort in limited deployment. Traceability, auditability, and real-time cross-border payments jointly topped the near-term benefits list, each cited by 48% of respondents.

On instrument preference, stablecoins lead at 63% of respondents using or planning to use them, followed by tokenised deposits at 53%, tokenised money market funds at 52%, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) at 51%. The narrow spread across instruments points to a market that has not yet consolidated around a single format, leaving the competitive landscape between bank-issued and non-bank tokenised money genuinely open. For operators considering treasury or payments infrastructure decisions, the APAC concentration in the sample is worth holding in mind when extrapolating to other regions.