Citigroup expands Citi Token Services to Japan and the UAE

Citigroup expanded Citi Token Services to Japan and the United Arab Emirates. Built on a private and permissioned blockchain, the platform enables near-instantaneous fund transfers across the bank's network to bypass traditional banking cut-off times, holidays and time-zone limits.

The addition brings the service to seven markets, joining the United States, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Japan will support US dollar transactions, while the UAE will support both US dollar and euro transactions. The platform already processes billions of dollars in volume and handles collateral management.

The platform launched commercially in 2024 after a Singapore-New York pilot. It integrated with Citigroup's 24/7 US dollar clearing in 2025 and later added euro transactions through Dublin. The push aligns with Citigroup's 2026 Investor Day plan, which highlighted tokenization as a long-term catalyst for its Services unit. Management expects Services revenue to grow at a low to mid-single-digit rate in 2027-2028.

Over the past six months, Citigroup shares have gained 9.5%, trailing the industry's 9.8% rise. The stock trades at a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, compared with the industry average of 12.73. The Zacks Consensus Estimate projects annual earnings growth of 40.4% in 2026 and 15.8% in 2027, though both estimates were revised downward over the past week.