TLDR:
- Monument Bank targets £250M in tokenized deposits on Midnight’s privacy-enhancing public blockchain network.
- Deposits remain fully backed, redeemable in GBP, and protected under the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
- Phase two opens retail access to private equity, commodity funds, and structured products via the Monument app.
- Phase three introduces Lombard-style lending, letting customers borrow against investments without liquidating their assets.
Monument Bank is set to become the first UK-regulated bank to tokenize retail customer deposits on a public blockchain. The bank, regulated by the Bank of England, manages roughly £7 billion in deposits.
Working with the Midnight Foundation, Monument plans to bring up to £250 million in deposits onto the Midnight network.
The program targets mass-affluent customers seeking access to modern financial tools while retaining full regulatory protection under existing UK frameworks.
Tokenized Deposits Open New Doors for Retail Banking Customers
Monument’s approach centers on representing customer savings as digital tokens on Midnight’s privacy-enhancing blockchain.
Each token corresponds one-to-one with funds held at the bank, functioning as a digital mirror of a traditional deposit. Customers will earn interest just as they would with a standard savings account.
The deposits remain fully backed by Monument and redeemable in pounds sterling. They also stay protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, preserving the same safeguards customers already rely on.
Blockchain infrastructure operates behind the scenes, requiring no direct handling of digital assets by the customer.
Midnight’s architecture ensures that transaction data stays shielded and accessible only to Monument Bank and its customers.
This privacy-focused design addresses one of the central challenges facing blockchain adoption in regulated finance. It allows the bank to operate on a permissionless network without exposing sensitive financial information.
Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation, addressed this directly. “Financial institutions around the world are exploring how blockchain infrastructure can support regulated financial products, but one of the persistent challenges has been balancing transparency with the privacy requirements of modern banking,” he said.
Monument’s model demonstrates how a regulated bank can bring traditional products on-chain while staying within compliance and consumer protection frameworks.
Monument’s Founder, Mintoo Bhandari, framed the move as a continuation of the bank’s core mission. “Monument was founded on the promise of bringing the most innovative and valuable financial offerings, safely and securely, to the often overlooked and underserved mass-affluent community in the UK and beyond,” he said.
With over 100,000 customers, the bank is embedding these capabilities directly into the consumer experience, setting this initiative apart from institutional-only tokenization efforts seen elsewhere.
Three-Phase Rollout Targets Investments and Lending Access
Beyond deposits, Monument has outlined a broader three-phase roadmap to expand what customers can do within its platform.
The second phase will introduce tokenized real-world asset products managed by global asset managers, accessible directly through the Monument app.
Customers will gain exposure to private equity, commodity funds, and structured products without buying or managing digital assets themselves.
These asset classes have historically been available only to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors.
Monument’s structure is designed to change that by delivering institutional-grade products through a retail banking interface. The blockchain infrastructure running underneath remains invisible to the end user.
The third phase will introduce Lombard-style lending, allowing customers to borrow against their investments without selling them. Monument CEO Ian Rand noted the broader ambition behind this rollout.
“By combining these innovative capabilities with our exceptional client-centric service model, and the protections provided by the regulated banking framework of the UK, we are excited to deliver services that help our clients manage, and build, their prosperity,” he said.
This model has long been a feature of private banking services, offering more cost-effective credit access than standard borrowing. Bringing it to mass-affluent customers marks a notable shift in how consumer lending could work.
Daniel Fozzati, Founding Partner of The Building Blocks, called it “a world first by leveraging the UK’s innovation ecosystem.”
Research from Boston Consulting Group estimates tokenized financial assets could reach between $4 trillion and $16 trillion by 2030, and Monument’s initiative positions it early in that market.
