The tokenised deposits are a digital representation of traditional sterling commercial bank money that retain the trust and regulatory protections of conventional deposits, while promising benefits such as enhanced speed and fraud protection.
The GBTD pilot is part of the Regulated Liability Network, a common ‘platform for innovation’ across multiple forms of money, including existing commercial bank deposits and a shared ledger for tokenised commercial bank deposits.
Running until the middle of next year, it will see Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide, and Santander, with support from Quant, EY and Linklaters, deliver tokenised deposits and programmable payments against three use cases:
Ryan Hayward, head, digital assets, Barclays, says: “The upgrading of bank deposits to a digital form will help to ensure that commercial bank money remains central to the economy and customers continue to benefit from the protections and trust that go alongside that form of money.”
Paul Horlock, chief payments officer, Santander UK, adds: “Bringing the opportunity for ‘smart money’ to retail consumers to provide increased confidence, security and flexibility is part of our evolution to a multi-money future and is consistent with the aspirations of the UK’s National Payments Vision.”
