Quant has been appointed by UK Finance and a consortium of leading commercial banks to deliver the core technology behind the UK’s tokenised sterling deposits (GBTD) initiative, an ambitious financial market infrastructure project scheduled to run until mid-2026.
The programme, spearheaded by UK Finance in partnership with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide and Santander, aims to explore how tokenised commercial bank deposits can enhance payments, settlement processes and fraud prevention across the UK economy. Supporting organisations include Quant, EY and Linklaters.
Following its successful role in the first phase of the Regulated Liability Network (RLN) in 2024, Quant will supply the programmable money infrastructure to enable live transactions of tokenised deposits. This will encompass advanced programmable payment functionality and seamless interoperability across bank ledgers, RTGS, Faster Payments, Open Banking and tokenised deposit platforms.
Tokenised deposits represent a digital form of sterling commercial bank money. They maintain the trust and regulatory safeguards of traditional deposits while offering greater programmability, faster settlement speeds and enhanced fraud protection.
Three transformative use cases will be tested:
- Online marketplace payments – programmable payments designed to reduce fraud and boost confidence between buyers and sellers.
- Remortgaging processes – streamlining property transactions, improving transparency and mitigating conveyancing fraud.
- Wholesale bond settlement – accelerating clearing and settlement of digital assets through instant delivery-versus-payment (DvP) with a single pool of liquidity.
The project aims to demonstrate tangible benefits for consumers, businesses, and the wider UK economy.
Gilbert Verdian, Founder and CEO of Quant, said:
“Being selected for GBTD marks a pivotal step in the UK’s financial evolution. This milestone goes beyond improving payments – it’s about enabling new forms of programmable money that will fundamentally transform how value is moved and managed. Our involvement underscores Quant’s leadership in digital finance, as we work alongside the UK’s leading institutions to build the infrastructure powering tomorrow’s economy.”
Jana Mackintosh, Managing Director at UK Finance, said:
“This project is a powerful example of industry collaboration to deliver next-generation payments for the benefit of customers and businesses – and an opportunity for the UK to lead globally in setting standards for tokenised money.”
The same technology driving Quant’s proprietary PayScript® engine and Overledger technologies will form the foundation of the GBTD platform, which will be built with compliance with ISO 20022 international standards to provide a secure, interoperable and scalable solution designed for regulated financial environments.