Canada's six largest banks want to move dollars between each other as tokens on a ledger. Here is what they announced, how it differs from a stablecoin, and what is still unknown.
The big six banks are exploring a shared system to move tokenized Canadian-dollar deposits between them, starting with bank-to-bank transfers and no launch date. A tokenized deposit is still a bank deposit, which OSFI confirmed on September 10, while stablecoins from non-banks will fall under the new Stablecoin Act from 2027.
Not financial advice.
On Tuesday, September 22, RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC and National Bank said they will work together on a system for moving tokenized Canadian-dollar deposits from one bank to another. CoinDesk reports that TD put out the announcement. The first phase is narrow: get those digital deposits across participating institutions quickly. Later, the group wants to plug into other digital-asset projects and, per Cointelegraph, open the door to smaller deposit-taking institutions.
The stated aim is faster, programmable payments that run around the clock, with customer money staying inside the regulated banking system. No launch date was given. The banks have not even committed to issuing tokenized deposits yet. This is an exploration, and the statement reads like one.
The two look alike on a screen, so the difference is easy to miss. A tokenized deposit is your bank balance written onto a ledger that software can move. It is still a debt the bank owes you, sitting on the bank's books. A stablecoin such as USDC is a separate token issued by a company that holds reserves elsewhere. If the issuer fails, what you get back depends on those reserves and on how they were protected.
Canada's banking supervisor settled the legal side of this on September 10. OSFI said tokenized deposits are not legally distinct from ordinary deposits, and that the technology behind a product does not decide what it is in law, as both The Block and Cointelegraph report. Put simply, a deposit on a blockchain is still a deposit. The banks announced their project less than two weeks later, which is probably not a coincidence.
| Tokenized deposit | Fiat-backed stablecoin | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owes you the money | Your bank | The issuing company |
| Canadian rulebook | Existing bank rules (OSFI) | Stablecoin Act, in force from 2027 |
| Supervisor | OSFI | Bank of Canada |
Canada now has two tracks. Banks and credit unions stay under the rules they already live with. Everyone else who issues a stablecoin to Canadians falls under the new Stablecoin Act, which came through Bill C-15. Cointelegraph sums up what those issuers will owe: registration with the Bank of Canada, a one-for-one reserve of high-quality liquid assets, and redemption at par. The law was enacted in March 2026, and the rules are expected to apply from 2027.
The Bank of Canada's stablecoin page describes its own job as registering issuers, supervising them and stepping in when they fall short. That gives non-bank stablecoins a clear path into Canada for the first time. The banks' project reads as an answer to that: if programmable money is coming, they would rather it be their deposits than someone else's token. Shopify and National Bank were already backing a regulated digital Canadian dollar in May, and the Bank of Canada tested a C$100 million bond on a shared ledger with RBC and TD in March, CoinDesk notes.
For now, very little changes in your day. You will not see a tokenized RBC dollar in your banking app this year, and nothing here touches bitcoin or ether directly. Bitcoin traded near C$120,750 on the morning of September 23, and this story did not move it.
Over a longer stretch, three things are worth watching. First, rails. If Canadian dollars can move between banks around the clock as tokens, the slow, business-hours part of buying crypto with a bank transfer could shrink. Second, the gap between on-chain money and bank money gets smaller, which could make regulators and banks more relaxed about crypto flows, or more protective of their own version. Third, choice. From 2027 you should be able to hold a stablecoin whose issuer is registered and supervised in Canada, next to a bank's own token. Which one you prefer will come down to who owes you the money and what you want to do with it.
What we do not know yet: whether bank tokens will be open to retail customers or stay a wholesale tool between banks, whether they will run on a private ledger or a public blockchain like Base or Ethereum, and whether deposit insurance will treat them exactly like a normal balance. The banks did not say, and OSFI's statement did not answer the insurance question.
The whole debate is about one question: whose books is your money on. Fonte gives you a vault that is your own smart account on Base. Fonte never holds your money, you can withdraw any time, and every move the strategy makes is on-chain for you to check. Right now vaults are in the cash phase, lending USDC on Aave at a variable rate of about 3.9% as of September 23. You can fund or cash out to a Canadian bank by Interac e-Transfer through Paytrie. For more on who holds what, read exchange or self-custody. If that fits how you want to hold crypto, open a vault in about 30 seconds. This is general information, not financial advice.
It is an ordinary bank balance recorded on a digital ledger so it can move and be programmed like a token. The money is still owed to you by the bank. Canada's supervisor OSFI said on September 10, 2026 that tokenized deposits are not legally different from traditional deposits.
No. A tokenized deposit is a claim on your bank. A fiat-backed stablecoin is a token issued by a separate company that holds reserves. In Canada, non-bank stablecoin issuers will register with the Bank of Canada under the Stablecoin Act, expected to take effect in 2027.
Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Group, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, CIBC and National Bank of Canada. They announced the joint effort on September 22, 2026 and said other deposit-taking institutions could join later.
Yes. The Stablecoin Act passed through Bill C-15 and sets rules for non-bank issuers: registration with the Bank of Canada, one-for-one reserves in high-quality liquid assets, and redemption at par. The framework is expected to apply from 2027. This is general information, not legal advice.
Disclaimer: This article is general information, not financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money, including your entire deposit. Figures quoted from third parties are as reported by those sources on the date shown and can change. Smart contracts can contain flaws.