On 5 June 2026 The Clearing House and a group of the largest US banks announced an initiative to clear and settle tokenised deposits between banks on-chain, with 24/7 availability[1]. The seventeen named institutions include Bank of America, BNY, Citi, J.P. Morgan, PNC, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, HSBC, Santander and TD Bank. No launch date was given.
The design has two parts: on-chain clearing and settlement of tokenised deposits between participating banks, and a connectivity layer linking that activity to the RTP and CHIPS networks, so money can move between tokenised and traditional form. The Clearing House already processes more than $2 trillion a day.
Why it matters
Several large banks have built their own deposit tokens. Their weakness has been interoperability: a token that only moves within one bank's network is useful for that bank's clients and little else. A shared network run by the operator of the existing large-value and instant payment systems addresses that directly.
It is also a clear position in the stablecoin debate. The Clearing House's statement says tokenised deposits offer the benefits of digital payments "while preserving the essential role banks play in extending credit". Put simply, the money stays a deposit, and the deposit keeps funding loans.
What most commentary misses
The connectivity layer may matter more than the blockchain. Corporate treasurers will not adopt a new form of money if it cannot move instantly into and out of the accounts and rails they already use. Linking to RTP and CHIPS is what makes tokenised deposits usable for payroll, supplier payments and liquidity management, rather than a pilot.
What to do
Banks with corporate and commercial clients should identify the treasury use cases where always-on, programmable settlement solves a real problem, such as intraday liquidity between subsidiaries or conditional payments, and prepare to offer them. Smaller banks should ask early how they will access the network, directly or through a correspondent, so they are not left offering yesterday's settlement to clients who expect tomorrow's.