Are banks ready for digital money?

Several industry and central bank projects moved from pilots to live systems in 2026. In June a 140-member consortium that includes Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock and Stripe launched the Open USD shared stablecoin network. In the same month The Clearing House announced a bank-led tokenised-deposit network backed by JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. SoFi placed a dollar stablecoin inside its consumer app, and Western Union and MoneyGram issued dollar tokens for remittances. The European Central Bank is moving central bank money onto distributed ledger technology: its wholesale settlement platform Pontos is scheduled to launch in Q3 2026 and a retail digital euro pilot is planned for 2027.

Regulatory and rulebook activity is running in parallel. Lawmakers in the United States are advancing the GENIUS Act, Europe is operating under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, and the United Kingdom has introduced a systemic stablecoin regime.

The Open USD network was created by private-sector firms to provide a shared stablecoin rail for consumer and cross-border use. The Clearing House project is designed as a bank-operated tokenised-deposit layer to keep settlement and custody within regulated banking channels and to support bank-to-bank liquidity and on-us settlements.

Market participants differentiate the rails by use. Stablecoins on public or permissioned public networks are being used for consumer payments and remittances because they can move funds quickly across jurisdictions. Tokenised deposits on permissioned bank rails are focused on interbank liquidity and preserving deposit relationships under banking supervision. Wholesale CBDCs are being built for central-bank-level finality in settlement, while retail CBDC pilots are framed around public-policy objectives such as inclusion and payment efficiency.

Analysis by RedCompass Labs identifies common infrastructure work for banks adapting to tokenised money. Payment hubs must interface with distributed ledgers or token engines. Custody and settlement platforms need upgrades to handle token formats. Liquidity and risk management systems require adjustment for 24/7 settlement cycles. Compliance and identity systems must be extended to new rails and token standards to meet anti-money-laundering and sanctions obligations.

The effect on bank balance sheets differs by model. Tokenised deposits remain bank liabilities and stay within existing deposit insurance frameworks. Stablecoins issued by non-bank entities create demand for on- and off-ramps that draw on bank custody, trading services and corridor liquidity. Wholesale CBDC settlement seeks to reduce interbank settlement risk but requires banks to modify reserve management and connectivity to central bank systems.

A Finextra webinar hosted with RedCompass Labs will examine readiness across technology, operations and regulation. Speakers listed for the session include Santhosh Kumar of RedCompass Labs, Mark Willis of Standard Chartered, Neil Chopra of Fireblocks, with Scott Hamilton as moderator. The agenda covers how banks can integrate stablecoins, tokenised deposits and CBDCs for cross-border and B2B payments.

Industry activity in 2026 has produced live products and imminent platforms while regulators publish frameworks and central banks roll out ledger-based systems. Banks preparing to offer or support digital money are aligning core payment hubs with token rails, establishing custody and liquidity services for tokenised assets, and seeking legal and accounting clarity with regulators for these products.