Key Takeaways:
Seven of the UK's largest banks, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, and NatWest, completed the world's first interbank tokenized deposit payments on September 24, 2026.
The banks settled a remortgage payment and a consumer marketplace payment between separate institutions on a shared platform built by the technology firm Quant.
Tokenized deposits stay bank liabilities with normal deposit protections, which is the line the banks drew between this and stablecoins.
Seven of the UK's largest banks completed the world's first interbank payments using tokenized deposits on September 24, moving tokenized pound balances between separate institutions on a shared ledger, CoinDesk reported.
Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, and Santander took part under the Great British Tokenized Deposit pilot, with the platform built by the technology firm Quant. The group settled a remortgage payment between banks and a consumer marketplace payment test, and Euronews reported these were live customer transactions rather than a single-bank sandbox.
The test matters because moving money between different banks, not just inside one, is the hard part. A tokenized balance is only useful if it can travel across the banking system and still settle with finality, and that is what the seven institutions showed on a shared platform.
The most notable part of this is the distinction the banks kept drawing. Tokenized deposits remain bank liabilities that carry the same protections as ordinary balances, which is what separates them from stablecoins issued by private companies. The group said it will next test settling digital assets using tokenized customer deposits.
The pattern here is hard to ignore. Within the past week Canada's six biggest banks said they would build tokenized Canadian dollar deposits, and in the US 39 state banking associations formed a bank-owned blockchain, and now British banks have moved real customer money between each other onchain. Worth watching whether tokenized deposits, rather than stablecoins, become the form regulated banks settle in.
People Also Ask
What are tokenized deposits?
Tokenized deposits are digital tokens that represent money held at a regulated bank. They stay bank liabilities and keep normal deposit protections, unlike stablecoins issued by private companies.
Which UK banks completed the first tokenized deposit payments?
Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, and Santander took part in the Great British Tokenized Deposit pilot, run on a platform built by Quant.
How are tokenized deposits different from stablecoins?
Tokenized deposits are claims on money at a licensed bank with deposit protections, while most stablecoins are issued by private firms and backed by reserves those firms manage.
What happens next with UK tokenized deposits?
The banks plan to test settling digital assets using tokenized customer deposits, extending the pilot beyond payments into asset settlement.