BNY Mellon is testing tokenized deposits on a blockchain to accelerate corporate payments and reduce their cost. The bank moves about USD 2.5 billion in payments each day and holds USD 55.8 billion in assets, so even small gains in speed or efficiency turn into large savings. The effort as inevitable, asking how quickly the old guard will adopt it rather than whether it will happen.
The bank treats tokenization as a gradual add-on to its treasury services, not a full replacement of existing rails, positioning the technology to complement rather than disrupt its current payments infrastructure.
One pilot creates tokenized deposits that settle almost instantly, demonstrating near-real-time movement of value. Another joint effort with Goldman Sachs places money-market-fund shares on the private GS DAP® ledger, with these assets plugging into BNY’s LiquidityDirect portal.
What BNY Mellon is testing
BNY Mellon is also participating in SWIFT experiments and providing custody for regulated stablecoins, widening its involvement across multiple tokenization and interoperability tracks.
The sales pitch centers on 24/7 programmable settlement that can execute through code and let treasuries move cash faster. The scale numbers to show why the project is worth the effort—tiny gains across huge flows add up.
Tokenized deposits are digital bank liabilities on a blockchain that can move and settle through programmable instructions, enabling automated and conditional transfers.
Possible outcomes remarks include lower operational costs, because payments settle in seconds and require little manual checking. Liquidity could improve and counterparty risk could shrink when money moves atomically and follows preset rules.
However, smart-contract bugs present material risks, as flaws could let an attacker mint or steal tokens.
Regulatory rules remain unclear and new rails must connect to old ones, so broader usage waits for legal clarity and further testing.
BNY’s scale multiplies savings; partners include Goldman Sachs on tokenized money-market funds and tests with SWIFT; risks stem from smart-contract flaws and missing cross-chain standards; more institutions are interested, but broad market uptake is not certain.
The next step is to complete the current pilots—SWIFT-linked runs and Goldman Sachs money-market-fund tokens—to prove the setup works and is safe. If the tests succeed and regulators give clear rules, BNY Mellon will expand the service.
In practical terms, BNY Mellon’s tokenization pilots aim for faster, cheaper corporate payments at scale, but progress hinges on secure smart contracts, interoperability with existing rails, and regulatory clarity.
