Barclays is evaluating building a blockchain platform to process payments and deposits.

Barclays has sent out requests for information to several potential technology vendors to assess how to build a blockchain platform for banking services such as payments. Applications may include stablecoins and tokenized deposits, with the goal of finalizing vendor selection as early as April. The use of stablecoins in payments is expanding, with Bloomberg Intelligence estimating that annual stablecoin payment transactions could exceed $50 trillion by 2030. Meta has previously tested integrating stablecoin payments into its applications. Several banks have already begun deploying blockchain systems; JPMorgan has launched its deposit token, JPM Coin, for institutional clients for payments, and HSBC plans to expand its tokenized deposit service to corporate clients in the US and UAE in the first half of this year.