The transactions were delivered through the Great British Tokenised Deposit (GBTD) initiative, which was convened by UK Finance involving Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander. 

GBTD participants executed the first set of live retail transactions, which included two remortgage completions where deposit funds were ‘locked’ and then automatically released at completion, reducing manual checks and settlement delays.

The pilots also explored how connecting with HM Land Registry digitally could help to improve the efficiency of future transactions.

UK Finance added that the mortgage transactions, the technology can also ensure customers continue to earn interest on funds held in their accounts until completion. 

The second trial transaction was a consumer ‘marketplace’ transaction, where a consumer purchases an item from a private seller.

The programmable tokenised deposits enabled money to be ‘locked’ in the buyer’s account, with release only happening when the goods were successfully exchanged, helping reduce transaction risk and building greater trust in online commerce. 

UK Finance explained that the “transactions demonstrated how tokenised commercial bank money can make payments more transparent, programmable, and efficient.

“Once scaled, the pilots demonstrated the potential benefits to customers including reduced fraud, giving customers greater control over funds, and increased confidence for buyers and sellers.  

The transactions were executed on the GBTD platform, which was developed by Quant as a shared UK industry infrastructure for tokenised commercial bank money. 

Further pilots are expected over the next few months to demonstrate digital-asset settlement by linking tokenised customer money with digital assets for seamless exchange.

Banks involved in the project will issue digital debt instruments that can be traded and settled, with coupons paid in tokenised deposits, unlocking the benefits of delivery-versus-payment-versus-reserves.

Jana Mackintosh, managing director of payments and innovation at UK Finance said: “These live transactions show how tokenised deposits can deliver practical, real-world benefits and contingent payments that give customers greater control over their money. By bringing the industry together, GBTD is demonstrating how tokenised deposits can strengthen the UK’s payments infrastructure, support innovation across the economy and drive the UK’s competitiveness internationally.”

Economic secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Lucy Rigby KC MP, said: “These first live transactions mark a critical milestone for payments innovation in the UK. We are a world leader in digital finance, and this Government is determined to keep us at the forefront. We will continue working with industry and regulators to build a safer, more innovative payments ecosystem that works better for customers and supports growth.”