Wells Fargo will roll out tokenized deposits for select corporate and commercial clients this fall, starting with round-the-clock U.S. dollar-to-British-pound transfers on its own blockchain. The bank joins JPMorgan and Citi in moving settlement rails on-chain, part of a wider Wall Street push into tokenization that also includes BlackRock and the DTCC.
Wells Fargo will offer tokenized deposits to select corporate and commercial clients later this year, starting with round-the-clock U.S. dollar-to-British-pound transactions on its proprietary blockchain. The bank plans to expand the service to more clients, countries and currencies throughout 2027.
Payments Route Automatically, Without Changing the Client Interface
The system will automatically route eligible payments through tokenized deposits when doing so improves speed or flexibility, without changing how clients interact with the bank. Tokenized deposits represent conventional bank balances on a blockchain, not a stablecoin. Wells Fargo says they will carry the same regulatory protections and deposit-insurance eligibility as its existing deposit products.
Wells Fargo frames round-the-clock settlement, programmable payments and parity with its existing deposit protections as future enhancements, saying clients will be able to move, program and settle funds continuously once the system is fully deployed. Future features will include conditional payments run through smart contracts, according to the bank.
Wells Fargo Joins JPMorgan and Citi in the Tokenization Race
Wells Fargo joins JPMorgan and Citi, which already operate institutional tokenized-deposit services, as banks compete with stablecoins that threaten to draw down their deposit bases. JPMorgan launched its JPM Coin deposit token on the Base network last year and plans to expand to the Canton network this year, while Citigroup launched tokenized depository receipts and plans to issue tokenized shares of private companies.
According to CoinGape, Wells Fargo CFO Mike Santomassimo called the planned launch an "important step forward" as the bank expands its on-chain payment options.
The rollout follows Wells Fargo's March trademark application for WFUSD, which could be tied to a deposit token or stablecoin.
A Broader Move Onto Blockchain Rails
Wells Fargo is also part of the DTCC's trial to tokenize stocks and U.S. Treasuries, which rolled out its initial phase last month and is due to begin a formal program in October. Separately, BlackRock launched two tokenized money funds it aims to position as reserve assets for GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoin issuers.
The bank's own blockchain push dates back to at least 2019, when it piloted an internal settlement system called Wells Fargo Digital Cash and later settled foreign-exchange trades with HSBC over a shared blockchain.
Sources: Wells Fargo, CoinDesk, CoinGape
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