Tokenised deposits and stablecoins for banks

Panelists at a recent industry webinar described how banks that offer tokenised deposits alongside bank-issued stablecoins can create programmable liquidity and support near-real-time cross-border payments. The discussion noted that banks without both capabilities risk missing corporate mandates and losing correspondent relationships.

Tokenised deposits are digital representations of bank liabilities that sit on a bank’s regulated balance sheet and inside its KYC perimeter. That structure makes them suitable for programmable operations such as real-time cash concentration, conditional disbursement, atomic settlement and automated liquidity distribution across legal entities. Bank-issued stablecoins are digital tokens designed to move value across borders, and in some cases across capital-control lines, in ways that traditional deposits cannot.

Panelists identified use cases already in pilots or early production. Corporate treasuries and transaction banks are testing settlement outside standard banking hours, delivery-versus-payment that clears instantly rather than over days, and end-to-end treasury visibility that reduces manual reconciliation. Combined, tokenised deposits and stablecoins can let a single bank cover both domestic programmable liquidity and the cross-border payment leg of a multinational’s flow.

Demand is coming from corporates and from other banks, correspondent networks and market infrastructure providers seeking greater efficiency and interoperability. Speakers said a network effect is emerging: when major correspondents expect token connectivity, banks that cannot connect may be excluded from requests for proposals.

Regulation remains a key constraint. Technology cannot change capital controls, currency convertibility rules or prudential requirements. Tokenised deposits operate within existing regulatory frameworks, which can simplify compliance, while stablecoins raise questions about reserve arrangements, custody, cross-border prudential treatment and how supervisors will apply rules. Banks will need to secure appropriate licensing, reporting and capital treatment in each jurisdiction where they operate.

Panelists also discussed operational work to integrate tokenised services with core systems and correspondent networks. They reported growing pilot activity and early production deployments and noted that the pace and geographic reach of wider adoption will depend on the balance between technological capability and regulatory permissioning.