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Why Banks Can't Afford to Wait on Tokenized Deposits, with Jon Briggs
- Payments are commoditized; the value is in what happens before and after the transaction. This insight drove KeyBank's entire fintech partnership strategy.
- Speed in banking is relative. Nine months from handshake to product launch was a standout result -- built on 10 years of trial and error refining processes.
- Organizational structure matters. Having payments leadership report directly to the CEO gave KeyBank the empowerment and alignment needed to move quickly.
- Stablecoins vs. tokenized deposits are not interchangeable terms. Conflating them is "intellectually sloppy" -- they have different structures, risk profiles, and use cases.
- Near-term use cases for tokenized money: interbank and intrabank settlement, cross-border payments, and B2B transactions.
- Consumer trust data: 75% would try stablecoins from a bank; under 4% comfortable with unregulated providers.
- FIS-Circle partnership integrates stablecoin as another "lane in the payments highway."
- Banks need to act now on tokenized deposits -- not because the technology is ready to deploy, but because the learning curve (risk frameworks, regulatory education, internal alignment) takes years.
- Spend management is a real threat -- platforms like Ramp function as de facto digital banking experiences for SMBs, and the old rebate-based competition model no longer works.
- Capital One/Brex is likely the largest capability-centered acquisition a bank has ever made, by a multiple of at least 5x.
- Build vs. buy: Most banks should not try to own large-scale technology companies. Capability acquisitions and well-structured partnerships are the better path.
- Keys to a successful fintech partnership: team alignment, holistic go-to-market planning, aligned incentives, and thoughtful servicing.
- Jon's 2026 prediction: By year-end, tokenized deposits will move beyond just the largest banks (JP Morgan, Citi, BNY) and the technology will start becoming more broadly adopted across the industry.
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By Commerce Ventures- Payments are commoditized; the value is in what happens before and after the transaction. This insight drove KeyBank's entire fintech partnership strategy.
- Speed in banking is relative. Nine months from handshake to product launch was a standout result -- built on 10 years of trial and error refining processes.
- Organizational structure matters. Having payments leadership report directly to the CEO gave KeyBank the empowerment and alignment needed to move quickly.
- Stablecoins vs. tokenized deposits are not interchangeable terms. Conflating them is "intellectually sloppy" -- they have different structures, risk profiles, and use cases.
- Near-term use cases for tokenized money: interbank and intrabank settlement, cross-border payments, and B2B transactions.
- Consumer trust data: 75% would try stablecoins from a bank; under 4% comfortable with unregulated providers.
- FIS-Circle partnership integrates stablecoin as another "lane in the payments highway."
- Banks need to act now on tokenized deposits -- not because the technology is ready to deploy, but because the learning curve (risk frameworks, regulatory education, internal alignment) takes years.
- Spend management is a real threat -- platforms like Ramp function as de facto digital banking experiences for SMBs, and the old rebate-based competition model no longer works.
- Capital One/Brex is likely the largest capability-centered acquisition a bank has ever made, by a multiple of at least 5x.
- Build vs. buy: Most banks should not try to own large-scale technology companies. Capability acquisitions and well-structured partnerships are the better path.
- Keys to a successful fintech partnership: team alignment, holistic go-to-market planning, aligned incentives, and thoughtful servicing.
- Jon's 2026 prediction: By year-end, tokenized deposits will move beyond just the largest banks (JP Morgan, Citi, BNY) and the technology will start becoming more broadly adopted across the industry.