Frontier AdoptionEvidence-graded tracking of what's actually live

Deployments · platform by Bank of England

Bank of England Synchronisation LabNew

A Bank of England test programme for the synchronisation capability it is building into its renewed RTGS service (RT2): an operator earmarks central bank money in RT2 and releases it only when the matching transfer on an external asset ledger completes, so both settle or neither does. Announced in October 2025, the Lab gives 18 selected firms, among them prospective synchronisation operators such as Chainlink, ClearToken, LSEG, Partior, Quant and Swift, a non-live environment with no real money to test use cases such as tokenised gilts and other securities, collateral and FX. It was due to start in spring 2026 for about six months, followed by a showcase and a Bank report; no production date for the live service has been given.

AnnouncedProof of conceptPilotLive (limited)Live (scaled)

Proof of concept since H1 2026[1] — The Bank opened the non-live Lab in the first half of 2026 (Deputy Governor's letter, 30 June 2026); firms test synchronised settlement with no real-money payments, so proof of concept. Live synchronisation in RT2 is targeted for 2028. · Reviewed 13d ago

Assets
Debt security[4]
Tokenised gilts and other securities to be settled against central bank money in a non-live test
Networks
Bank of England RTGS (RT2) Central bank RTGS system[2]
A non-live RT2 environment with its synchronisation capability; participants' own asset ledgers are not named.
Use cases
Delivery versus payment (DvP)[4][3]FX settlement[4]Collateral mobility[4]
Jurisdictions
United Kingdom

Participants

Moves across networks

  • direct linkSynchronised settlement[3]Earmark in RT2, then release once conditions on the external ledger are met.

Timeline

  1. Happened H1 2026 (month only) · Launch · recorded 16 Oct 2026
    The Bank opens the Lab for the selected firms to test synchronised settlement against central bank money (non-live), due to run for about six months and end with an industry showcase and a Bank report. Planned for spring 2026; the opening is confirmed by the Deputy Governor's letter of 30 June 2026 (recorded 2026-10-26 on editor decision 2026-10-25-value-gaps-2-1).[1][2]
  2. Happened 30 Jun 2026 · Launch · recorded 25 Oct 2026
    In a letter to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden says the Bank opened the Synchronisation Lab earlier in 2026 so firms can test and develop synchronised payment use cases, and that live synchronisation in RT2 is now targeted for 2028.[1]
  3. Happened 11 Feb 2026 · Participant joined · recorded 16 Oct 2026
    Eighteen organisations are reported as selected for the Lab, spanning banks, market infrastructures, fintechs and decentralised technology firms.[4][2]
  4. Happened Oct 2025 (month only) · Announcement · recorded 16 Oct 2026
    The Bank of England announces the Synchronisation Lab and invites expressions of interest (applications closed 28 November 2025).[2]

Sources

  1. [1]Letter from Dave Ramsden, Deputy Governor, on the RTGS Renewal Programme — Bank of England (letter to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee; copy hosted by Beyond the Vote), 30 Jun 2026. Accessed 25 Oct 2026. Committee publication 54201 (published 13 July 2026); committees.parliament.uk returns 403 to the fetcher, so the mirror copy was read. States the Lab opened earlier in 2026; no detail on what has been tested..B
  2. [2]Synchronisation Lab — Bank of England. Accessed 16 Oct 2026. Lists the 18 selected participants; non-live, not a regulatory sandbox, no real-money payments; page last updated 5 August 2026..A
  3. [3]Synchronisation — Bank of England. Accessed 16 Oct 2026. Earmark and release model for atomic settlement between RT2 and external ledgers; aims to move to a production capability 'as soon as possible', no date..A
  4. [4]Bank of England Launches Pilot for Tokenized Asset Settlement — Banking Exchange, 11 Feb 2026. Accessed 16 Oct 2026.C

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