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Canada’s Big Six Banks Explore Tokenized Canadian-Dollar Deposits
Banks target faster interbank settlement as Canada clarifies rules for digital deposits
TL;DR
- Canada’s six largest banks announced a joint tokenized-deposit initiative on September 22, 2026, starting with transfers between Canadian financial institutions.
- OSFI said on September 10 that tokenized deposits are “not legally distinct from traditional deposits.”
- The effort follows the C$100 million Project Samara bond test and comes as Canada prepares a separate stablecoin framework for 2027.
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Canada’s six largest banks are jointly exploring tokenized Canadian-dollar deposits, with the first phase focused on moving digital representations of bank deposits between Canadian financial institutions and a longer-term goal of connecting them with other digital-asset initiatives.
Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and TD Bank Group announced the initiative on September 22, 2026. The six institutions are collectively known as Canada’s Big Six and are testing a common model rather than separate bank-specific projects.
“The first phase of the project aims to move tokenized deposits efficiently across Canadian financial institutions with a longer-term goal to connect with other emerging digital assets initiatives,” the banks said.
Additional banks and deposit-taking institutions could join the project later. The initiative is exploratory and does not represent a confirmed commercial launch.
Banks Target Programmable, Around-the-Clock Payments
The banks said the project is intended to support faster and programmable payments while keeping activity within the regulated banking system and maintaining financial-stability safeguards and regulatory oversight.
Tokenized deposits are digital representations of money already held at regulated banks. The underlying deposit remains a liability of the bank rather than becoming a separately issued digital asset.
That distinction separates tokenized deposits from fiat-backed stablecoins, which are separate instruments backed by reserves maintained by their issuers. Tokenized bank deposits can remain within the existing commercial-bank deposit structure while potentially supporting programmable and 24/7 payments.
Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions clarified the regulatory treatment of tokenized deposits on September 10, 12 days before the Big Six announcement. OSFI said tokenized deposits are “not legally distinct from traditional deposits,” meaning the technology used to represent a deposit does not by itself change its legal nature.
OSFI also expects regulated financial institutions to engage with supervisors before introducing novel products.
Eric Richmond, Coinbase Canada’s country director and CEO, said the coordinated move showed growing institutional interest in blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
“It’s encouraging to see Canada’s largest banks moving together on tokenized deposits,” Richmond said. “It’s a clear sign that more of the financial system is moving onchain.”
Project Builds on Earlier Canadian Tokenization Tests
The Big Six initiative follows Project Samara, completed in March 2026 by the Bank of Canada, RBC and TD. That project tested the issuance, trading and settlement of a bond using distributed-ledger infrastructure and tokenized wholesale Canadian dollars.
Canada enacted its Stablecoin Act in March 2026 as part of Bill C-15. The framework applies to fiat-backed stablecoins issued by non-financial institutions and is expected to take effect in 2027.
Covered issuers will be required to register with the Bank of Canada, maintain reserves of at least 1:1 in high-quality liquid assets and provide redemption at par. They will also be prohibited from describing their stablecoins as bank deposits or presenting them as insured under a public deposit-insurance system.
Banks and credit unions already subject to prudential regulation fall outside that framework, leaving tokenized deposits governed through the existing banking-regulation structure.
National Bank of Canada also backed a separate regulated digital Canadian-dollar project with Shopify in May 2026 that was designed to operate around the clock. That initiative is separate from the Big Six tokenized-deposit project.
Outside Canada, regional U.S. banks are developing a shared tokenized-deposit network, while JPMorgan, Citi and Wells Fargo have pursued institutional offerings. Swift has also tested tokenized deposits for around-the-clock cross-border payments involving banks across six continents.
CIBC was contacted for additional information but did not provide an immediate response.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
