Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Canada)

OSFI: tokenized deposits are not legally distinct from traditional deposits

Canada's federal bank supervisor OSFI issued a statement on 10 September 2026 clarifying its technology-neutral stance on permitted activities under the Bank Act, Trust and Loan Companies Act and Insurance Companies Act: the underlying technology does not determine a product's legal nature, so tokenized deposits are deposits. Institutions remain responsible for compliance, including by third parties, are expected to follow guidelines such as B-13 (technology and cyber risk) and B-10 (third-party risk), and must engage their OSFI lead supervisor before launching novel products.

Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Canada)