Canada’s six largest banks explore tokenised deposits

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Canada’s six largest banks are working together on a system that would allow tokenised Canadian dollar deposits to move between financial institutions.

Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and TD Bank Group announced the initiative on Tuesday. The first phase will focus on transfers between Canadian financial institutions, with the potential to connect the system to other digital asset networks later.

The project follows guidance from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), which clarified earlier this month that tokenised deposits are legally equivalent to traditional bank deposits.

OSFI said the technology used to represent a financial product does not determine its legal nature. The regulator’s position could provide a clearer framework for banks exploring blockchain-based deposit infrastructure.

The banks said the project aims to explore how tokenised deposits could support faster and more efficient movement of Canadian dollars between financial institutions.