US-based payments company The Clearing House has launched a bank-led digital payments initiative to enable the clearing and settlement of tokenised commercial bank money at scale.
In a press release, the firm describes the solution as combining “the existing regulatory, operational, and settlement frameworks of established payment market infrastructure with the programmability and interoperability of blockchain-enabled financial activity”. Participating banks include Bank of America, BNY, Citi, HSBC, and JP Morgan.
The initiative aims to deliver on-chain clearing and settlement of tokenised deposits between banks within the established banking framework, with support for automated workflows, richer transcation data, and 24/7 settlement. It will also provide a connectivity layer linking blockchain-based activity to established fiat rails, facilitating movement between digital and traditional commercial bank money.
David Watson, president and CEO of The Clearing House, emphasises the dependability of traditional systems, saying, “The banking industry has long provided the trusted infrastructure that underpins the movement of money throughout the global economy.” The Clearing House sees the solution as an answer to the growing demand for tokenised deposits that combines the programmability of on-chain money with the trust, settlement certainty, and balance sheet benefits inherent in commercial bank money.
