Canada’s Big Six Explore a Shared Tokenized Deposit Solution
Six Canadian banks are exploring how CAD tokenized deposits could move between institutions and support programmable payments.
Digital money is becoming a larger part of payments and financial market infrastructure globally, creating a need for Canadian institutions to consider how existing forms of bank money can operate in a more digital environment. On September 22, 2026, BMO, CIBC, National Bank, RBC, Scotiabank and TD announced that they are jointly exploring Canadian dollar digital money solutions, beginning with tokenized deposits. The banks said the initiative reflects a shared objective of keeping Canada’s payments infrastructure competitive and secure as digital money develops.
The news came shortly after OSFI clarified its regulatory position on tokenized deposits. On September 10, OSFI stated that tokenized deposits are not legally distinct from traditional deposits and that the technology used to represent a financial product does not change its legal nature. Financial institutions remain responsible for complying with existing laws and requirements covering areas such as technology, cyber risk and third party risk.
What the Banks are Exploring
Canadian Dollar Tokenized Deposits: The project begins with a Canadian dollar based tokenized deposit initiative. The objective is to explore how this form of digital bank money can support responsible innovation while maintaining safety, financial stability and regulatory oversight. OSFI's guidance provides an important regulatory foundation for this work. A deposit represented in tokenized form continues to be treated as a deposit, with the same legal character rather than becoming a separate category of financial product because of the technology used.
Movement Across Financial Institutions: The first phase will explore how tokenized deposits can move efficiently between Canadian financial institutions. This makes movement across institutions a central part of the initiative from the outset, rather than focusing only on uses within an individual bank. The banks have not yet disclosed the underlying technology, operating model, settlement structure or implementation timeline.
Faster and Programmable Payments: The project is intended to explore faster, more efficient and programmable payments for Canadian customers. These are stated objectives of the initiative, although the banks have not yet announced specific customer products or use cases.
Connection with Digital Assets: Beyond the initial movement of tokenized deposits between financial institutions, the banks have identified a longer term objective of connecting the solution with other emerging digital asset initiatives. The announcement does not specify which assets, networks or initiatives could eventually be included.
Broader Industry Participation: The founding participants are BMO, CIBC, National Bank, RBC, Scotiabank and TD, but the initiative is not intended to remain limited to these six institutions. The participants have stated that other deposit taking institutions could be included at an appropriate stage.
What Remains Open
The news represents an exploration rather than the launch of a completed payment system or product. The banks have not announced a launch date, technical architecture, common standard, governance structure, commercial model or specific customer applications.
OSFI has also made clear that financial institutions developing novel products remain responsible for meeting applicable regulatory requirements and are expected to engage with their OSFI supervisors before launching them.
🚨 What This Signals for the Canadian Financial Sector
The development shows that Canada's largest banks are beginning to explore tokenized deposits collectively rather than only as institution specific initiatives. The immediate focus is practical: determining how Canadian dollar deposits could move efficiently between regulated financial institutions while supporting faster and programmable payments.
The regulatory position is also becoming clearer. OSFI has confirmed that tokenization does not create a new legal category of deposit, allowing institutions to explore new technology while remaining within the existing regulatory framework for bank deposits.
The longer term significance will depend on how the project develops. For now, the announcement establishes three clear directions: interbank movement of tokenized deposits, broader participation by Canadian deposit taking institutions, and eventual connectivity with other digital asset initiatives. The technical design and customer applications remain to be determined.
