ClearBank has partnered with Poundtoken to provide the sterling stablecoin issuer with banking services.

The partnership will allow Poundtoken to hold its fiat-backed stablecoin reserves at the Bank of England in safeguarded bank accounts, where the digital currency will always be redeemable for pound sterling.

Poundtoken describes itself as the first regulated sterling stablecoin issuer in Britain. The company says that because the value is pegged to a specific fiat currency, fiat-backed stable coins are less volatile and offer greater stability than other decentralised digital currencies.

ClearBank will additionally provide Poundtoken with real-time transfers to enable instant funding and defunding of the stablecoin and maintain the correct fiat reserve.

“Stablecoins are set to become a key part of our financial ecosystem, offering the stability of fiat currency married to the advantages of crypto,” said John Salter, chief customer officer at ClearBank. “Working with Poundtoken, the first of its kind in the British Isles, means ClearBank is supporting this venture as it scales up and breaks new ground.”

In January, ClearBank announced that had appointed Paul Staples as group head of embedded banking and Nick Ford as group head of channels and alliances ahead of its planned expansion in Europe.

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