Tokenised Deposits · Stablecoins · Malaysia
Tokenised Deposits vs Ringgit Stablecoins: What Malaysian Banks Need to Know
How tokenised deposits and ringgit stablecoins differ, what Bank Negara Malaysia's 2026 pilots are testing, how Shariah considerations apply, and where a Malaysian bank should start.
By Measera5 min read
Why Do Banks Need On-Chain Ringgit?
Tokenised assets such as sukuk and bonds need a cash leg that can settle on the same ledger. Without on-chain money, a tokenised sukuk still waits for payment to clear through conventional rails, and much of the efficiency is lost. Tokenised deposits and stablecoins are the two leading candidates for that cash leg.
In February 2026, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) onboarded three pilots under its Digital Asset Innovation Hub, launched in June 2025:
- Standard Chartered Malaysia, with Capital A, testing a ringgit stablecoin for business-to-business settlement.
- Maybank, testing tokenised deposits for payments, including cross-border corporate payments.
- CIMB, testing tokenised deposits for payments, with a focus on capital markets and treasury workflows.
BNM has said it intends to provide greater clarity on the use of ringgit stablecoins and tokenised deposits by the end of 2026. For banks, the question is no longer whether on-chain ringgit will exist, but which form to build for.
What Is a Tokenised Deposit?
A tokenised deposit is an ordinary bank deposit, represented as a token on a distributed ledger. The customer's claim is on the bank, exactly as it is today. The deposit stays on the bank's balance sheet, counts towards its funding and is covered by the same prudential rules and deposit protection.
What changes is the rail. Because the deposit lives on a ledger, it can move between parties in near real time and around the clock, and its movement can be programmed. Payments can release automatically when goods are delivered, when a tokenised security changes hands or when an agreed condition is met.
Maybank's pilot illustrates the point. In March 2026 it ran a live cross-border payment with Yinson, settling atomically with an embedded ringgit to Singapore dollar conversion.
What Is a Ringgit Stablecoin?
A ringgit stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a stable value of one ringgit. Instead of being a deposit, it is backed by a reserve of high-quality assets, such as cash and short-term government securities, held by the issuer and ideally ring-fenced from its other business.
Stablecoins are usually designed to travel further than a single bank's ledger. They can be held by parties that do not bank with the issuer and can move across platforms, which makes them attractive for settlement between companies and across ecosystems. Standard Chartered's pilot with Capital A is testing exactly that: a ringgit stablecoin for 24/7 wholesale settlement between businesses.
How Do They Compare?
| Tokenised deposit | Ringgit stablecoin | |
|---|---|---|
| What the holder owns | A claim on the issuing bank | A claim on the issuer and its reserve |
| Balance sheet | Stays a bank liability, part of funding | Backed by a separate, ring-fenced reserve |
| Who can issue | Licensed banks | Depends on the final regulatory framework |
| Reach | Typically within the bank's own network or a shared bank ledger | Designed to move across parties and platforms |
| Main risk | The credit risk of the issuing bank | Reserve quality, redemption and operational risk |
| Natural fit | Corporate payments, treasury, liquidity, settling tokenised assets for clients | Business-to-business settlement and wider ecosystems |
Neither is strictly better. Tokenised deposits keep money inside the banking system and protect a bank's funding base. Stablecoins trade some of that for reach. Many institutions expect the two to coexist, with final settlement between banks still clearing through central bank money.
What About Shariah Compliance?
Both instruments raise questions that Islamic banks and windows need to answer early:
- What the token represents. For a tokenised deposit, the underlying contract matters. An Islamic deposit based on qard, wadiah or another structure should keep the same contract when tokenised.
- How the reserve is invested. A stablecoin's backing assets would need to be Shariah-compliant, and any return on the reserve has to be handled in line with Shariah principles.
- What the code does. Programmable conditions, fees and transfers become part of what the Shariah committee reviews, just as with tokenised sukuk.
BNM has published research on tokenised money from a Shariah perspective, and the 2026 pilots include use cases that explore Shariah considerations. For Malaysian banks, this is an area where getting the structure right early will save rework later.
Where Should a Malaysian Bank Start?
The right answer depends on what the bank is trying to achieve:
- If the priority is corporate clients and treasury, tokenised deposits are the more natural starting point. They keep funding on balance sheet and fit existing client relationships.
- If the priority is settling tokenised assets, such as tokenised sukuk, the bank needs a cash leg on the same ledger. That may be its own tokenised deposits, a shared bank ledger or a stablecoin, depending on who the counterparties are.
- If the priority is a wider ecosystem, such as a marketplace, a supply chain or cross-border business payments, a stablecoin model may offer more reach, subject to what BNM ultimately permits.
Whichever route applies, the sequence is the same one that works for any tokenisation programme: assess the use cases and regulatory requirements, blueprint the token model and its integration with core banking, run a controlled pilot with defined participants, and only then scale.
Our View
For most Malaysian banks, tokenised deposits are the place to start. They keep funding on the balance sheet, fit how corporate clients already bank, and follow the route Maybank and CIMB are taking in their pilots. A stablecoin makes sense when the counterparties sit outside the bank's own network, and that case depends on rules BNM has not yet published.
Most of the effort goes into three things outside the token itself: connecting the ledger to core banking, getting the Shariah committee comfortable reviewing code, and agreeing with counterparties which ledger to settle on. None of these depend on the final policy, so they can start today.
Read more about our service stack, how our consultancy works or our explainer on tokenised sukuk.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a tokenised deposit?
- A tokenised deposit is a regular bank deposit recorded as a digital token on a distributed ledger. It remains a liability of the issuing bank, sits on that bank's balance sheet and carries the same protections as the deposit it represents.
- What is a ringgit stablecoin?
- A ringgit stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a stable value of one ringgit, backed by a reserve of high-quality assets held by the issuer. It is a claim on the issuer and its reserves rather than a bank deposit.
- What is the difference between a tokenised deposit and a stablecoin?
- A tokenised deposit is bank money on a new rail and stays inside the banking system. A stablecoin is a separate instrument backed by a ring-fenced reserve, and is usually designed to move more freely between parties and platforms.
- Are tokenised deposits and stablecoins allowed in Malaysia?
- Bank Negara Malaysia is testing both through pilots under its Digital Asset Innovation Hub in 2026, and has said it will provide clarity on their use by the end of 2026. Until then, they are limited to approved pilots.