Banks Prepare for Open USD and Tokenised Deposit Networks

RedCompass Labs data shows June 2026 brought several major digital-money launches. A 140-member industry consortium introduced a shared stablecoin network called Open USD, and a group of large US banks announced a tokenised-deposit network through The Clearing House.

The consortium behind Open USD includes payments and asset managers such as Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock and Stripe. The Clearing House initiative lists banks including JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. SoFi integrated a stablecoin into its national bank app. Remittance firms Western Union and MoneyGram rolled out dollar tokens across their networks. The European Central Bank plans to launch its wholesale DLT settlement solution, Pontos, this quarter, and a retail digital euro pilot is expected in 2027. New or pending rulebooks referenced in the data include the US GENIUS Act proposals, Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, and the UK’s systemic stablecoin rules.

RedCompass Labs categorises digital money into three layers that banks must assess: private stablecoins, bank-issued tokenised deposits, and central bank digital currencies. Each layer requires different technical connections and legal arrangements that affect how payment systems record and move value and how deposits appear on balance sheets.

Infrastructure issues identified in the dataset include custody and wallet services, ledger connectivity, settlement finality and integration with existing payment hubs. For cross-border and business-to-business payments, rail choice-public blockchains, permissioned ledgers or hybrid networks-affects transaction speed, fees, compliance and interoperability. The consortium and bank networks aim to offer interoperable rails for private digital money while central banks are testing DLT-based rails for high-value settlement.

Operational and balance-sheet questions also arise. Tokenised deposits change how deposits are represented and transferred on ledgers, with potential effects on liquidity management and payment hub configuration. Stablecoins issued by non-bank entities introduce custody, reserve and regulatory compliance issues. Depending on access models, retail CBDCs could alter deposit composition if the public can hold central bank money directly.

The dataset notes uneven industry readiness. Market infrastructure and regulatory frameworks are advancing, but many banks need to upgrade core systems, reconciliation processes and risk controls to support multiple digital-money rails at once. Industry groups and firms have established forums and pilots to test interoperability, custody models and compliance ahead of wider rollouts.

RedCompass Labs will host a webinar to discuss the findings and practical implications for banks. Speakers include Santhosh Kumar, senior business analyst at RedCompass Labs; Mark Willis, global head of emerging payments at Standard Chartered; Neil Chopra, head of strategy and business development for the Americas at Fireblocks; with Scott Hamilton moderating.