UK Finance pilots pound sterling deposits encrypted with six major banks.

UK Finance, the association representing over 300 financial services companies in the UK, has launched a project to trial the encrypted British pound deposit (GBTD) with the participation of six major banks including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide, and Santander. The project will run until mid-2026, aiming to assess the benefits of digitizing commercial deposits, from payment control and fraud prevention to optimizing the payment process.

The GBTD technical infrastructure is provided by Quant Network, which previously participated in the Regulated Liability Network (RLN) project in 2024. The trial will focus on three cases: payments on e-commerce platforms, the refinancing process, and wholesale bond payments.

The project takes place in the context of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK completing the legal framework for cryptocurrency, expected to be fully implemented by 2026.