Digital currencies and real-time payment connectivity are reshaping transactions and financial institutions are working hard to ensure new payment systems integrate seamlessly with existing ones.
CommBank’s 2026 digital currency and tokenisation update highlights how several factors are driving the rise in use of digital currencies globally. The bank says digital asset technology has matured to the point where digital currency platforms and the supporting infrastructure are reliable and secure.
The bank was the only bank to support all three of the RBA’s research projects into a central bank digital currencies (CBDC), including Project Acacia, a joint initiative of the RBA and the DFCRC.
“New forms of digital money provide additional tools to operate in a high-velocity, increasingly complex global payments environment where client needs continue to evolve,” said Sophie Gilder, managing director of blockchain & digital assets.
Regulatory clarity is also playing a key role, with 2026 shaping up as a “breakthrough year” for Australia. Local legislative changes are expected to spur the broader application of digital currencies and tokenisation, helping Australia align more closely with economies such as the EU, US, Hong Kong and Singapore.
“We’ve seen initial digital asset legislation pass, with more expected. This will define the roles, expectations and standards of the digital assets ecosystem,” Gilder said. “Regulation is a key driver in this space, as it is for all financial products, because it defines the rulebook and shapes how solutions are designed and adopted.”
The rise of stablecoins, privately-issued digital tokens, deposit tokens and CBDCs are changing the architecture of finance – but each of these will work within the broader ecosystem.
“Money is being re-engineered and we expect that, in the future, multiple formats will coexist and serve different roles,” Gilder said.
The momentum behind ‘smart’ money is largely due to programmability and atomic settlement features.
“Automation, scheduling and embedding conditions into money enables transactions to be executed more efficiently, particularly in a 24/7 global economy where liquidity needs to be dynamically managed,” Gilder added.
But despite rapid advancements in digital currencies, CommBank says corporates are unlikely to experience a sudden step change from old to new. Rather, existing systems and new systems will coexist and corporates will have more choice in how they manage their liquidity.
“Looking ahead, a company that knows it will need liquidity on Sunday night could pre-schedule a transaction to raise cash against its assets, reducing the need for manual treasury intervention,” executive GM institutional transaction banking, Regis Petit, said.
For financial institutions, the challenge is integrating old and new – ensuring their existing banking and transaction systems connect seamlessly with new digital money systems.
Additionally, CommBank says there are many different blockchains and distributed ledgers – and not every financial institution will use the same blockchain networks – so interoperability between networks is equally important.
“The technology will facilitate more efficient cross-border payments, with lower costs and faster settlement times,” Petit said.
In 2016, CommBank conducted its first pilot of a stablecoin to explore how they might change payments in Australia, and has continued to iterate the design as the market evolves, while it was lead arranger on a global-first bond on blockchain issued by the World Bank in 2018.
It is also “We want to build practical knowledge and capabilities in this space, because the technology and risks are different to the financial technology we have today and offer new possibilities,” said Gilder.
“There are multiple potential paths for this technology. Building capability now ensures we are prepared as it evolves. We see this as part of our long-term strategic architecture.”