Money20/20 Vegas 2026: BNY's Carl Slabicki on the Evolution of Instant Payments and Tokenisation

Quick Summary

Corporate treasury teams now have more options than ever before, moving beyond traditional methods like ACH and wire transfers. Carl Slabicki of BNY explains at Money20/20 Vegas 2026 how the dawn of instant payments and the adoption of tokenised deposits are creating a 24/7 environment for global trade.

How is the instant payments landscape evolving?

The industry is currently about a decade into the instant payments journey in the US, following the launch of RTP. With the introduction of FedNow, over 2,000 banks now have access to send and receive payments 24/7. While adoption initially began with niche consumer use cases, the corporate community is now using these rails for global cash concentration.

A significant milestone is approaching in the first quarter, when the US is expected to open its borders for instant cross-border payments to US beneficiaries. This evolution from domestic maturity to international openness is being complemented by new options such as stablecoins and tokenised payments, which continue to push the boundaries of speed and data movement.

What role do tokenised deposits and stablecoins play in treasury?

Tokenised deposits and stablecoins are becoming viable options for corporate use cases, provided they solve core problems regarding availability, reachability, and adoption. Carl Slabicki notes that the goal is to ensure these tools are interoperable with the existing working capital lifecycle, including liquidity redemption and investment. Key focus areas include:

• Availability: Ensuring services are active 24/7, 365 days a year.
• Reachability: The ability to pay businesses or consumers on a global scale.
• Interoperability: Connecting different layers to avoid the creation of walled gardens.

To achieve this, BNY is collaborating with Swift on digital initiatives, The Clearing House for USD tokenised deposit systems, and Project Agora with central banks to build a standardised global network.

How is BNY addressing fragmentation in global banking?

For over 240 years, BNY has acted as a bridge in global transaction banking, providing access to more than 125 currencies and 130 markets. In the current landscape, where various stablecoins and tokenised liquidity products are launching, the bank's role is to ensure money movement remains seamless. The focus is on executing real-time liquidity management without increasing the operational burden on clients, allowing them to move in and out of different assets without friction.

How is AI transforming payment processing?

Artificial Intelligence is already impacting global payments through proprietary systems like Eliza, which BNY has utilised for several years. This technology provides the foundation for an always-on operating model by assisting with payment processing at scale, investigations, and customer service inquiries. Looking ahead, the next iteration involves an agentic framework model. This will allow clients to use real-time data and analytics to manage cash continuously, using AI agents to decide when to invest incoming funds into tokenised liquidity products or how best to access capital for outgoing payments.

FF NEWS TAKE:

BNY is positioning itself as the vital connective tissue between legacy financial systems and the emerging world of digital assets. By championing interoperability through projects like Agora and Swift's digital initiatives, the bank is working to prevent the fragmentation that often plagues new financial technologies. The move towards an agentic AI framework suggests that the future of treasury is not just about faster rails, but about intelligent, automated decision-making that can keep pace with a 24/7 global economy.