Banks face digital money test in 2026

A Finextra webinar will assess how ready banks are for the digital money landscape in 2026. The session, held in association with Red Compass Labs, will explore the industry's response to stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Drawing on new data from Red Compass Labs, the webinar aims to provide a sense check on the state of play. It will examine how financial institutions are adapting and identify existing gaps in readiness.

The Momentum for Digital Money

Stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and CBDCs are now impossible to ignore, according to the source. The momentum has only picked up pace. In June 2026, a consortium of 140 entities - including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Stripe - launched a shared stablecoin network called Open USD to compete with Tether and Circle.

In the same month, banks such as JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo announced the release of a bank-led tokenised-deposit network through The Clearing House. SoFi became the first US national bank to integrate a stablecoin within its own app. Western Union and MoneyGram both rolled out dollar tokens across their remittance networks.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is moving central bank money onto distributed ledger technology. Its wholesale settlement solution, Pontos, launches this quarter. The retail digital euro is heading toward a pilot in 2027.

Infrastructure and Regulatory Frameworks

Live or imminent infrastructure and rulebooks are shaping the environment. These include the GENIUS Act in the US, the MiCA regulation in Europe, and the UK's new systemic stablecoin regime.

The webinar will consider what this momentum means for banks in reality. For institutions wanting to work with stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and CBDCs, the session will explore what implementation looks like. It will also address the infrastructure implications of adopting these digital money layers.

A key question is which layer banks are betting on between stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and CBDCs. The discussion will also cover rail considerations for cross-border and business-to-business payments, examining which digital money layer lends itself to which use case.

Impact on Banking Operations

The impact of each digital money layer on a financial institution's payment hub and its deposit base will be a focus. The session will also consider the factors that will set apart the winners in the digital money space.

The panel for the webinar includes industry experts such as Santhosh Kumar, Senior Payments SME at Red Compass Labs; Mark Willis, Global Head of Emerging Payments at Standard Chartered; Neil Chopra, Head of Financial Markets at Fireblocks; and Scott Hamilton, a Global Payments & Liquidity Expert and Contributing Editor at Finextra, who will moderate.