Pilot Project of Tokenized Pound Deposits Launched in U.K.

UK Finance announced the launch of a pilot project for tokenized deposits in pounds sterling, within which real test transactions of the new format will be carried out until mid-2026.

UK Finance, together with the largest banks in the U.K., launched a large-scale pilot project to introduce tokenized pound deposits (GBTD), a digital form of commercial bank money. This form of deposits preserves the reliability and regulatory guarantees of traditional deposits, while providing new opportunities — faster payments, reduced fraud, and greater transaction transparency.

UK Finance is a British trade association representing more than 300 banking and financial companies in the U.K.

The project involves Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide, and Santander, supported by Quant, EY, and Linklaters. The pilot will run until mid-2026 and will cover three key areas:

• P2P payments in online marketplaces — with a focus on protecting buyers and sellers;
• mortgage refinancing — to speed up transactions and prevent real estate fraud;
• digital asset settlements — to simplify exchange between tokenized money and digital assets.

According to the press release, the new platform will serve as the basis for smart payments and will be fully compatible with other forms of digital money and existing payment systems. In addition, participants will be provided with a Tokenization-as-a-Service solution, allowing organizations without their own infrastructure to connect to the project.

Bank representatives emphasize the strategic importance of transitioning to tokenized deposits. Ryan Hayward, Head of Digital Assets at Barclays, stressed that upgrading deposits to a digital form will preserve the central role of commercial bank money in the economy. Meanwhile, John O’Neill of HSBC called the project an important step in the development of digital money.

According to UK Finance, the pilot project will demonstrate tangible benefits for customers and businesses — increased user control over payments, reliable fraud protection, and more efficient settlements. Furthermore, the project plays a key role in the national strategy for financial innovation, including initiatives for issuing digital government bonds (DIGIT) and implementing the National Payments Vision (NPV).

In 2024, within UK Finance, the largest U.K. banks, as well as FinTech companies and payment networks Visa and Mastercard, took part in testing the Regulated Liability Network (RLN), a technology for tracking and transferring tokenized debt obligations that can be issued by various financial institutions.

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