Six major Canadian financial institutions have launched a joint initiative to develop a system for tokenized Canadian dollar deposits. The project aims to facilitate the transfer of digital representations of bank deposits between different financial entities, enabling faster and programmable payment solutions.
The participating banks include Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, and TD Bank Group. The initial phase of the project focuses on internal interbank transfers, with potential future plans to integrate with other digital asset ecosystems and expand access to additional deposit-taking institutions.
This development follows guidance from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) issued on September 10, 2026. The regulator clarified that tokenized deposits are legally equivalent to traditional deposits, regardless of the underlying technology used.
Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins, tokenized deposits remain a liability of the issuing bank. This distinction is significant as Canada continues to develop its broader regulatory framework for digital money, including the Stablecoin Act enacted in March 2026, which regulates non-financial institution issuers.
