Ringgit stablecoin pilots advance as Thailand tests payments

What BNM is piloting: ringgit stablecoins and tokenised deposits

According to The Asian Banker, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on 11 February 2026 onboarded three pilot initiatives under its Digital Asset Innovation Hub to test ringgit (MYR) stablecoins and tokenised deposits across wholesale domestic and cross-border payments, as well as settlements of tokenised assets. The same report notes BNM aims to issue clearer guidance by end-2026 on permissible uses and guardrails for these instruments.

As reported by Malay Mail, Standard Chartered Malaysia and Capital A are preparing a ringgit-stablecoin pilot focused on real-time settlement, better treasury management, and programmable flows. In that pilot, Standard Chartered will serve as issuer to extend its institutional standards into digital assets for corporate users.

As reported by The Star, BNM has received roughly 30–35 applications tied to stablecoins and other digital-asset innovations within its sandbox. In parallel, Maybank and Yinson are piloting ringgit tokenised deposits on a permissioned blockchain to facilitate cross-border payments while reducing foreign-exchange exposure and transaction costs.

As reported by MoneyCheck, these efforts align with a three-year asset tokenisation roadmap launched in November 2025 that prioritises SME supply-chain finance, Islamic and green finance, tokenised liquidity, and ringgit-denominated tokenised deposits and stablecoins. Regulatory coordination with the Securities Commission is a stated pillar of the roadmap.

Why it matters: wholesale payments, cross-border, and asset settlement

The pilots target institutional rails where programmability and near‑instant settlement can compress treasury cycles, automate conditional flows, and support atomic settlement of tokenised assets. If designs meet risk standards, wholesale cross-border corridors could see lower costs and better transparency while maintaining strict AML/KYC.

For regional context, according to Bloomberg Law, Thailand’s Bank of Thailand operates a Programmable Payments Sandbox that lets licensed digital-asset business operators test limited payment use cases. As reported by the Economic Times, Thailand’s Tourist DigiPay scheme, launched in late 2025, allows international visitors to convert digital assets into Thai baht through regulated operators, with merchants receiving baht and strict AML/KYC embedded.

Regulators in both markets cast these as contained experiments to surface operational, prudential, and consumer-protection issues before broader rules are set. “Stablecoins are a trend that is here to stay… but guardrails are needed so they support legitimate business use cases and genuine economic activities rather than speculative purposes,” said Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.

Stablecoins vs tokenised deposits: definitions, risk, and governance

A ringgit stablecoin is a digital token designed to track MYR, typically backed by reserves with redemption mechanisms; a tokenised deposit is a blockchain-native representation of a deposit claim on a licensed bank. Both are being tested for wholesale payments and settlement of tokenised assets, where programmability can synchronise cash and asset legs and reduce reconciliation friction.

From a risk and governance lens, stablecoins hinge on transparent reserve backing, redemption, and issuer governance, while tokenised deposits align to existing bank risk frameworks and operational controls. BNM has emphasised maintaining the singleness of money across forms, alongside financial stability, consumer protection, and strong AML/KYC.

Implementation choices in the pilots emphasise permissioned ledgers, auditable controls, and interoperability with existing payment and settlement infrastructures. Where relevant, ringgit-denominated products also consider Shariah requirements noted in Malaysia’s tokenisation roadmap, indicating design choices must meet both prudential and market integrity expectations.

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