Tokenized finance will not scale through isolated banking systems, according to Citi executive Ryan Rugg, who said the model needs networks that work across banks, borders, currencies, and asset classes. Speaking at the Consensus conference in Miami Beach, she argued that enterprise clients need shared infrastructure capable of moving value through the broader financial system rather than within a single institution’s walls.
Rugg, Head of Digital Assets for Treasury and Trade Solutions at Citigroup, said large corporations often manage hundreds or even thousands of accounts across multiple banks worldwide. That operating reality shapes what clients want. They are not looking for a token that stays inside one bank’s environment; they want payment rails that continue to function across institutions on a continuous basis.
Enterprise demand is centered on shared payment infrastructure
Rugg framed interoperability as a practical requirement, not a theoretical feature. In her remarks, she said clients need infrastructure that can support cooperation among financial institutions at scale. She pointed to the Swift messaging network as an example of how industry-wide coordination can support broad usage, suggesting that tokenized finance is more likely to expand through common frameworks than through closed, bank-owned platforms.
That distinction matters for capital movement. If each institution builds its own separate token network, the result may be technical progress inside individual silos without solving the larger problem of global financial coordination. Rugg’s position was that enterprise use cases depend on systems that connect, not systems that compete in isolation.
Citi says its tokenization platform is linked to a 24/7 dollar clearing network
While calling for wider collaboration, Rugg also outlined Citi’s existing work in the sector. She said the bank has already built its own tokenization platform and connected it to a 24/7 U.S. dollar clearing network. That network currently spans more than 300 banks.
Even so, she said internal modernization by itself does not meet enterprise demand. Cross-industry payment activity and capital flows require broader coordination between institutions. In that context, tokenized systems are being treated as an additional financial tool rather than a replacement for existing infrastructure.
The point is notable because it places tokenization alongside legacy financial rails instead of setting it up as a full substitute. Citi’s framing suggests a layered approach: add new capabilities where they improve settlement and payments, while keeping compatibility with the systems large clients already use.
Legal certainty and fragmented standards remain unresolved
Rugg also stressed that regulatory certainty is essential. She said Citi will not launch new tokenization products without complete legal clarity. For a large global bank, that makes regulation a gating issue rather than a secondary consideration.
She added that fragmentation is growing across the sector as banks, fintech firms, and crypto companies continue building separate networks with different technical standards. In her view, that trend creates direct obstacles to interoperability. The long-term goal, she said, should be interconnected financial networks rather than disconnected digital ecosystems.
Rugg also cited Citi research showing that faster and more convenient payments consistently rank among the top priorities for corporate clients. That finding aligns with the broader message from her remarks: tokenized finance will gain traction only if it improves real-world payment efficiency across the global banking system.