Seven of the United Kingdom’s largest banks completed the world’s first interbank customer transactions using tokenized sterling deposits (digital records of bank-held money), UK Finance announced on September 24. The live payments were conducted through the Great British Tokenised Deposit initiative, bringing together Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander on a common platform built by Quant. Unlike stablecoins, tokenized deposits remain liabilities of the issuing bank and retain the legal protections associated with conventional deposits. The transactions tested automated, contingent payments: funds were locked and released after property transfers were confirmed in two remortgage completions, while a separate customer-to-customer payment held a buyer’s money until goods were confirmed delivered. UK Finance plans to establish a dedicated company and governance rulebook, with three digital bonds scheduled for issuance in the first quarter of 2027 and further pilots linking tokenized customer money with digital assets.