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The Money Layer Is Being Rebuilt: Tokenised Deposits Move From Pilot to Plumbing
Executive summary
The competitive battle in payments has moved from the checkout to the money itself.
Canada’s six largest banks (RBC,TD,BMO,Scotiabank,CIBC and National Bank) have announced a joint project to build shared Canadian-dollar tokenised deposit infrastructure. The initial phase will focus on transfers between participating banks rather than consumer wallets. There is no launch date yet,but the project may later include other deposit-taking institutions.
For merchants,the implication is not another checkout button. It is the possible end of the settlement calendar: money that moves 24/7,settles atomically and can be programmed to move when a commercial condition is met.
That could reduce prefunding,shorten cash-conversion cycles and remove reconciliation friction. It could also create new complexity. Merchants will need clear contractual answers on what form of money they receive,when settlement is final,how at-par conversion works and how different money types appear in reporting.
Tokenised deposits,stablecoins and CBDCs are not the same
A tokenised deposit is a regular commercial bank deposit represented as a digital token on a shared ledger. It remains a liability of the issuing bank. The money is not new;the network is different.
A stablecoin is a digital token issued against reserve assets. It may be issued by a bank or a non-bank,and its legal claim,redemption arrangements and regulatory treatment depend on the issuer and jurisdiction.
A central bank digital currency,or CBDC,is digital money issued directly by a central bank. A wholesale CBDC is designed for financial institutions and settlement use rather than everyday consumer payments.
Form of money | Issuer | Core claim | Primary opportunity |
Tokenised deposit | Commercial bank | Claim on the issuing bank | Programmable bank money and shared settlement |
Stablecoin | Bank or non-bank issuer | Claim on issuer and reserves | Portable digital value and internet-native settlement |
CBDC | Central bank | Direct claim on the central bank | Central bank settlement and monetary confidence |
The distinction matters because banks are now putting their own deposit base on programmable rails rather than allowing stablecoins to become the default digital settlement layer.
Why banks are doing this now
For three years,stablecoins dominated the digital-money conversation. Their appeal is clear:they can move continuously across borders and be integrated into software,marketplaces and treasury systems.
For banks,the strategic risk is deposit disintermediation. If businesses and consumers hold more value in non-bank stablecoins,banks may lose both deposits and control over the settlement relationship.
Tokenised deposits are a defensive and offensive response. They preserve the commercial bank deposit while adding programmability,shared infrastructure and potentially 24/7 settlement. The bank keeps the customer relationship and the balance-sheet role. The payment ecosystem gains a more flexible money layer.
The commercial proof point is already emerging. SoFi has gone live with stablecoin settlement across Mastercard’s network,using SoFiUSD for a card programme exceeding US$25 billion in annualised volume. The stablecoin is fully reserved 1:1,and merchants can receive settlement funds instantly into a SoFi Bank account.
This is not evidence that every merchant will soon settle in stablecoins. It is evidence that money itself is becoming a configurable settlement choice.
What the global map adds up to
Canada’s initiative is part of a wider institutional race.
In the United States,The Clearing House, whose participants include JPMorgan,Citi,Bank of America and Wells Fargo, is building a rival tokenised deposit network targeting the first half of 2027. Thirty-nine US state banking associations have backed the BankChain Alliance. BMO is already live on CME Group’s tokenised cash platform with Google Cloud. At the same time,Scotiabank and TD are among 21 banks supporting a US dollar stablecoin targeted for the first half of 2027.
The message is not that banks have chosen tokenised deposits over stablecoins. They are hedging across both. The common objective is control over how money moves and settles.
At the central bank layer,BIS Project Agorá demonstrated tokenised commercial bank deposits and tokenised central bank reserves operating on a shared programmable platform. Its prototype supported atomic,multi-currency settlement and reduced manual intervention and reconciliation work. The BIS has also argued that tokenised deposits are the safer form of digital money when compared with privately issued alternatives.
The ECB launched Pontes in September 2026 to settle tokenised assets in central bank money. In Australia,the RBA and DFCRC’s Project Acacia tested 20 wholesale use cases across a pilot wholesale CBDC,tokenised commercial bank deposits,stablecoins and exchange settlement account balances. The RBA is now consulting on how RITS and the Fast Settlement Service could support tokenised finance and at-par exchange between private forms of tokenised money.
For merchants,this is the beginning of a settlement infrastructure map, not a finished product catalogue.
What changes operationally for merchants?
Settlement timing and finality
A tokenised settlement rail could allow funds to move on weekends and public holidays rather than waiting for batch windows. But “instant” is not the same as final. Contracts must define when a transaction becomes irrevocable,which party bears reversal risk and whether the merchant can use funds immediately.
Prefunding and liquidity
Always-on settlement could reduce the cash buffer required across marketplaces,acquirers and international operations. Liquidity may be released closer to the moment of trade. That benefit will depend on access rules,limits,fees and whether funds are held in tokenised deposits,stablecoins or traditional accounts.
Programmable and conditional payments
Money could be instructed to move when an event occurs. A shipment might release payment when customs clearance is confirmed. A marketplace could split proceeds between the seller,platform,logistics provider and tax authority. A subscription could renew only after a service-status check.
This is where agentic payments become relevant. An AI agent may be able to select a rail or trigger a payment,but it still needs settlement money with clear permissions,limits and conditions.
Treasury and foreign exchange
JPMorgan Payments’ expansion of Xpedite Remit with Thunes shows the direction of travel for 24/7 cross-border rails,reaching 12 billion mobile wallets and bank accounts across more than 100 corridors. Tokenised money may eventually reduce the time between collection,conversion and payout,but treasury teams will still need to manage currency exposure,redemption and counterparty risk.
Reconciliation and accounting
Programmable settlement can carry richer transaction data and reduce manual matching. However,finance teams will need new rules for recognising settlement,handling on-chain references and reconciling multiple forms of private money. Payment success rate should be measured alongside settlement success,finality and exception volumes.
Dispute evidence
Conditional payment logic may create a stronger evidence trail around delivery,authorisation and release conditions. It does not eliminate disputes. Merchants will need to understand who controls the trigger,how an exception is paused and whether the ledger record is sufficient evidence under the applicable law.
Risks and unresolved questions
The most important question is whether different forms of private tokenised money can be exchanged at par. A token representing one bank’s deposit must be reliably convertible into another bank’s deposit without creating hidden credit or liquidity risk.
Interoperability is equally important. Multiple closed networks could recreate today’s fragmentation under a more sophisticated interface. Legal finality,consumer protection,access eligibility and data visibility also remain unresolved.
The merchant question is simple:will the new rails be open enough to create choice,or will settlement become another bank-controlled layer that merchants can use only through intermediaries?
Merchant checklist for the next two quarters
How Quantum Payments fits
Quantum Payments helps businesses manage the operational layer between payment acceptance,settlement and reconciliation. Our flexible platform brings together payment orchestration,omnichannel commerce,embedded payments,accounting and business intelligence so merchants can adapt as settlement options evolve.
The goal is not to force every business onto one rail. It is to give merchants the control plane to route payments,manage operational data and reconcile outcomes across a unified commerce environment. That foundation becomes increasingly important as programmable money and agentic payments move from pilots into production workflows.
What should happen next?
Banks and infrastructure providers should publish clear standards for finality,redemption,interoperability and reporting before asking merchants to adopt new settlement models.
Merchants should not wait for a consumer wallet launch. The first commercial impact is likely to arrive through acquirers,marketplaces,treasury providers and cross-border payout products. Businesses that understand the money underneath their payment stack will be better placed to negotiate pricing,liquidity terms and operational control.
The checkout may look unchanged. The settlement contract will not.
Frequently asked questions
What is a tokenised deposit?
A tokenised deposit is a conventional commercial bank deposit represented by a digital token on a shared ledger. It remains a claim on the issuing bank and is not the same as a stablecoin or CBDC.
Are tokenised deposits stablecoins?
No. A tokenised deposit represents an existing bank deposit. A stablecoin is a digital token backed by reserve assets and issued under the legal and operational framework of its issuer.
Will tokenised deposits give merchants instant settlement?
They may support 24/7 or near-instant settlement,but the outcome depends on the network,provider,access model and contract. Merchants must confirm when funds become final and usable.
Why are banks building tokenised deposit networks?
Banks are responding to stablecoin competition,deposit disintermediation and the strategic importance of controlling the settlement layer. Tokenisation allows banks to keep deposits on their balance sheets while making them more programmable.
What does Australia’s Project Acacia mean for merchants?
Project Acacia showed how tokenised assets could settle using several forms of digital money,including tokenised commercial bank deposits,stablecoins and central bank money. It supports further work on Australian settlement infrastructure,but it is not yet a retail merchant payment product.
Will agentic payments require programmable settlement money?
Not necessarily,but programmable settlement money could make agentic payments safer and more automated. It may allow limits,conditions,split payments and release triggers to be enforced closer to the settlement layer.
Sources
SEO metadata
Meta title: Tokenised Deposits Move From Pilot to Plumbing | Quantum Payments
Meta description: Banks are rebuilding the money layer with tokenised deposits,programmable settlement and 24/7 rails. What merchants need to prepare for now.
Suggested slug: tokenised-deposits-move-from-pilot-to-plumbing
Primary keywords: tokenised deposits,programmable money,bank settlement infrastructure
Secondary keywords: stablecoin settlement,payment success rate,payments foundation model,agentic payments,real-time settlement,unified commerce
Daily handover to Sonny
Publishing details: Blog title: The Money Layer Is Being Rebuilt: Tokenised Deposits Move From Pilot to Plumbing
Wix slug: tokenised-deposits-move-from-pilot-to-plumbing
Schedule instruction: Schedule in Wix for Friday 25 September 2026 at 7:30am AEST. Ensure the post is scheduled at least one hour before its go-live time.
Primary angle: The payments competition is moving from checkout experiences to the money and settlement layer. Banks are making deposits programmable to defend the deposit base and control settlement.
Relevant tags: Tokenised deposits;programmable money;bank settlement infrastructure;stablecoin settlement;real-time payments;payment orchestration;treasury;reconciliation;agentic payments;unified commerce
Recommended organisation tags: Quantum Payments;RBC;TD;BMO;Scotiabank;CIBC;National Bank;The Clearing House;BIS;RBA;DFCRC;Mastercard;SoFi;JPMorgan Payments;Thunes
Hashtags: #Payments #TokenisedDeposits #Stablecoins #ProgrammableMoney #RealTimeSettlement #Treasury #PaymentOrchestration #Fintech #UnifiedCommerce
LinkedIn post 1-8:08am AEST
Angle note: Data-led and strategic. Contrast the scale and commercial momentum of stablecoin settlement with the institutional response from banks building tokenised deposit networks. Position the battle as control of the settlement layer rather than a contest over checkout buttons.
Exact copy:
Stablecoins got the headlines for three years.
Now the banks are rebuilding the money underneath payments.
Canada’s six largest banks are exploring shared Canadian-dollar tokenised deposit infrastructure. The Clearing House is targeting a tokenised deposit network for the first half of 2027. SoFi has gone live with stablecoin settlement across Mastercard’s network for a card programme exceeding US$25 billion in annualised volume.
These are not isolated experiments. They show a strategic split:
Stablecoins compete for digital settlement and potentially for deposits.
Tokenised deposits let banks keep the deposit relationship while making commercial bank money programmable.
The result is a race to control the settlement layer.
For merchants,the future opportunity is not simply another payment method. It is:
But merchants need contractual clarity before they adopt the plumbing. What form of money are you receiving? When is it final? Is it convertible at par? How will it appear in your ledger?
The checkout may look familiar. The settlement contract is being rebuilt.
Read the full analysis from Quantum Payments: https://www.quantumpayments.io/post/tokenised-deposits-move-from-pilot-to-plumbing
First comment:
The key distinction is simple:tokenised deposits are bank deposits represented on new rails. Stablecoins are digital tokens backed by reserves. CBDCs are central bank money. Merchants should assess all three through the lens of finality,liquidity and reconciliation.
Relevant tags: RBC;TD;BMO;Scotiabank;CIBC;National Bank;The Clearing House;SoFi;Mastercard;BIS;RBA
LinkedIn post 2-3:23pm AEST
Angle note: Operator and merchant-focused. Turn the money-layer shift into a practical checklist for payments,treasury,finance and operations teams preparing for the next two quarters.
Exact copy:
Tokenised deposits will not arrive as a new checkout button.
They will arrive through your settlement file,treasury account,acquirer contract and reconciliation process.
Before your business accepts a new settlement rail,ask:
The operational prize is significant:less prefunding,24/7 movement,programmable release conditions and cleaner reconciliation.
The operational risk is also significant:instant does not automatically mean final,interoperable or at par.
Read the full merchant-focused analysis from Quantum Payments: https://www.quantumpayments.io/post/tokenised-deposits-move-from-pilot-to-plumbing
#PaymentsOperations #Treasury #Reconciliation #TokenisedDeposits #PaymentOrchestration #MerchantStrategy #Fintech
First comment:
Add tokenised money to your next payments architecture review. The right question is not only “How fast can funds move?” It is also “What exactly are the funds,who controls the conditions and how will finance report them?”
Relevant tags: Quantum Payments;RBA;DFCRC;BIS;Mastercard;SoFi;JPMorgan Payments;Thunes;payment service providers;merchant operations