Canadian Banks Unite to Explore Tokenized Deposit System
Six major Canadian banks have joined forces to explore the development of a tokenized deposit system, aiming to create faster and more efficient digital money solutions for Canadians. The initiative, which was announced on September 22, will focus initially on interbank transfers rather than issuing consumer-facing tokens. This move comes after regulatory guidance from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions clarified that tokenized deposits carry the same legal status as traditional deposits.
The participating banks - Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, and TD Bank Group - stated that their goal is to 'drive responsible innovation and facilitate broad participation in the digital money ecosystem for the benefit of all Canadians.' They emphasized that this project aims to deliver faster, more efficient, and programmable payments while preserving safety, stability, and effective regulatory oversight.
The banks will explore the development of a shared model for Canadian-dollar digital money solutions, with the long-term goal of connecting it with other emerging digital assets initiatives. The first phase will focus on moving tokenized deposits across Canadian financial institutions, with the possibility of including other deposit-taking institutions at a later stage.