Canada's Big Six Banks Launch Joint Tokenized Deposit Network

TORONTO — Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC and National Bank announced Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, that they are jointly developing a shared Canadian-dollar tokenized deposit system, initially limited to interbank transfers rather than consumer wallets. A tokenized deposit is a standard bank deposit represented as a digital token on a shared ledger — not a cryptocurrency or a central bank digital currency. The banks said the system aims to be competitive and secure while preserving existing safeguards governing commercial bank money, and left open eventual participation by other Canadian deposit-taking institutions. Interbank transfers in Canada remain slow to clear outside basic e-transfers. A shared token system could settle transfers instantly and around the clock, with programmable payments triggered by events such as customs clearance. Separately, JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are building a rival tokenized deposit network through The Clearing House, targeting a first-half 2027 launch. No Canadian launch date has been set.