How banks can profit from digital currencies

Finextra is hosting an online webinar with CGI to examine how banks can offer central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins and tokenised deposits. The session will map the operational differences between those instruments and outline steps banks must take to deliver new digital currency products and services.

The event will be moderated by Scott Hamilton, global payments and liquidity expert and contributing editor at Finextra. Practitioners on the panel will compare infrastructure and process requirements for CBDCs, stablecoins and tokenised deposits, and discuss settlement and liquidity implications for banks expanding their digital currency offerings. The programme follows renewed policy interest in regulated stablecoins after the introduction of the GENIUS Act in the US.

Panelists will describe how roles change by instrument. CBDCs generally need direct links to central bank settlement systems or approved commercial interfaces and involve minting and burning under central bank rules. Stablecoins are issued by private firms and commonly use external distributed ledgers, which places token issuance, smart-contract management and some validation outside a bank’s direct control. Tokenised deposits remain commercial bank liabilities and can be issued on ledgers while keeping more of a bank’s existing account and custody functions.

Speakers will examine onboarding and offboarding processes. KYC, customer onboarding and regulatory reporting usually remain bank responsibilities even when tokens are issued on third-party rails. The webinar will cover operational tasks that banks must retain and where functions can be shared with technology providers.

The panel will address settlement and liquidity effects. Faster payment rails have reduced intraday liquidity cushions; tokenised assets and instant settlement on ledgers can further alter intraday funding needs. Banks may require new intraday liquidity, additional correspondent balances or conversion mechanisms between tokenised holdings and traditional cash. Minting and burning processes can add operational costs and timing risk if token creation or redemption is delayed or charged.

Speakers will list cost areas banks should plan for, including ledger integration, smart-contract audits, custody and reconciliation between on-chain and off-chain records, and enhanced compliance monitoring. They will discuss whether to operate ledger nodes in-house or to use third-party services and the trade-offs that creates for governance, security and legal exposure.

The webinar will cover control and outsourcing. When ledger and token functions sit outside core banking systems, banks must use contractual protections, operational controls and clear custody models to manage risk. The panel will examine permissioned ledgers, wrapped-asset structures and settlement links to central bank accounts as ways to preserve client relationships and limit operational exposure.

Regulatory uncertainty and cross-border rules are part of the discussion. Banks active in multiple jurisdictions must align governance, compliance and risk controls with requirements that are still being developed in many markets. Speakers will outline how firms can begin product development and pilot programmes while building governance frameworks that meet evolving standards.

Panelists will identify near-term commercial opportunities for banks, including custody and administration of tokenised assets, liquidity provision and market-making on token rails, payment-rail integration, token-based asset servicing, and issuance services for corporate clients. The session aims to move the conversation from use cases toward practical implementation questions for banks entering the digital currency market.