What happened
- Specific facts/numbers: Fnality said on September 10, 2026 that former Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe will chair its U.K. board, while Jochen Metzger and Ron Berndsen join Fnality Europe’s supervisory board; the company’s sterling payment system launched in late 2023 and Ledger Insights said it has publicly onboarded four banks so far.
- Institutions involved: Fnality, Fnality U.K., Fnality Europe, the Bank of England, Deutsche Bundesbank, De Nederlandsche Bank, and banks cited by Ledger Insights including Lloyds, Santander, UBS and BNP Paribas.
- Regulatory/technical context: Fnality describes its infrastructure as blockchain-based settlement for cross-border transactions in central bank money balances, with DLT-based digital cash backed by funds held at central banks; its existing sterling system is positioned as a base for euro and U.S. dollar expansion.
- What to watch next: Watch for regulatory approvals and launch timing for Fnality’s euro and U.S. dollar systems; no more specific next milestone was identified in the materials reviewed.
Why it matters
The appointments add central-bank and payments-system credibility to a wholesale settlement network aimed at supporting tokenized assets and atomic cash settlement across currencies.
HKMA Relevance
Indirect: The story signals broader progress in central-bank-linked tokenized settlement infrastructure that could shape cross-border market practices relevant to Hong Kong wholesale payments and tokenization policy.