Six major Canadian banks have launched a joint initiative to develop a shared infrastructure for tokenized deposits. The participating institutions include Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, and TD Bank Group.
The project aims to facilitate faster interbank transfers and enable programmable payments. The initial phase focuses on the efficient movement of tokenized deposits between these six institutions, with long-term goals including interoperability with broader digital asset systems.
The initiative follows regulatory clarification from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions on September 10, 2026. The regulator stated that tokenized deposits are considered standard deposits regardless of the underlying distributed ledger technology.
This coordinated launch involving all six systemically important banks differs from international pilots that typically begin with one or two institutions. The move builds on previous work, such as the March 2026 partnership between BMO, Google Cloud, and CME Group.
