Wells Fargo Tokenized Deposits Launch This Fall with Limited U.S. Dollar-to-British Pound Corridor

Wells Fargo is launching tokenized deposits for its corporate and commercial clients this fall. The product will start with a limited U.S. dollar-to-British pound corridor, which will be expanded to more clients, countries, and currencies by 2027.

The bank's chief financial officer, Mike Santomassimo, said 'tokenized deposits will enable Wells Fargo's corporate and commercial clients to move money between accounts and across borders with greater ease and increased speed'.

Tokenized deposits sit in a different regulatory box from stablecoins, thanks to the GENIUS Act, which excludes deposits recorded using distributed ledger technology from its definition of a payment stablecoin. The product will be folded into Wells Fargo's existing offering and automatically route payments through tokenized deposits when they can improve speed, timing, and flexibility.

The bank is not naming the blockchain it is using or whether the ledger is permissioned. It has run distributed-ledger settlement pilots before and is part of a bank-led on-chain money initiative unveiled by The Clearing House in June, which aims to provide on-chain clearing and settlement of tokenized deposits between banks.