Frequently Asked Questions

BankChain Alliance is a group of banks and state bankers associations working together to build banking infrastructure for the future. The Alliance gives banks a shared way to offer newer capabilities—such as modern payments, tokenized deposits, stablecoins and automated settlement—while maintaining the security, regulatory standards and customer trust that are central to banking. Put simply: BankChain Alliance is about banks working together to build banking infrastructure that banks themselves can help shape and govern.

Financial technology is changing quickly, and the Alliance believes banks should have a central role in deciding what that future looks like. The idea behind BankChain Alliance is to keep banks in the lead for the innovation process while maintaining the safety, oversight and consumer protections customers expect from banks.

It can be expensive, complicated and difficult for individual banks to build new technology and financial infrastructure on their own. BankChain is intended to lower those barriers by creating shared infrastructure. This reduces duplication and creates opportunities that an individual institution might not be able to achieve by itself. Instead of every bank trying to solve the same infrastructure problem separately, banks can work together on a common foundation.

The Alliance's basic reason is that collaboration can spread the cost and effort, reduce duplication and give banks access to capabilities that may otherwise be difficult or expensive to develop individually. There is also a governance component. When banks participate together, they have a voice in how the infrastructure develops instead of simply adopting technology that was designed somewhere else.

This are the core tenants behind BankChain

• Industry-designed: Banks help determine what the network should do and what problems it should solve.
• Industry-governed: Banks and industry representatives have a role in making decisions about the network, including product direction, technical standards and membership-related matters.
• Industry-owned: The Alliance is owned by the banking industry rather than being simply a product owned and controlled by an outside technology company.

The alliance is governed by leaders from banks and state bankers associations and new members have the ability to nominate bankers to be considered for the board and other committees so the institutions using and building the network have a direct voice in governance.

Forty state bankers associations, representing 3,403 banks and $22.4 trillion in assets, were initial supports. Now, banks off all sizes are joining the alliance. Importantly, representation by a state bankers association does not automatically mean every bank in that state is individually a BankChain participant. The current board includes leaders from the Florida Bankers Association, Ohio Bankers League, Nebraska Bankers Association, Texas Bankers Association, North Carolina Bankers Association, Missouri Bankers Association, Utah Bankers Association, New Hampshire Bankers Association and Massachusetts Bankers Association. The CEO Kimberly is Askwith.

Today the Alliance represents 42 states, 3,608 banks and $24.7 trillion in assets. The map on our home page shows current representation.

BankChain Alliance is less a "crypto project" than it is banking infrastructure. The focus is on creating a network specifically for the banking industry, with industry governance and an emphasis on regulatory standards, security, interoperability and the needs of banks of different sizes. The Alliance network is intended to be interoperable with other networks, so the goal isn't to create something completely isolated from the rest of the financial system.

No—BankChain Alliance is a network and infrastructure initiative. It's better to think of BankChain as infrastructure that could support banking and payment applications, rather than as a digital currency that customers would buy or trade.

No, the network is intended to be interoperable with other networks, it would be an additional shared infrastructure layer that can work with the broader financial system, rather than something banks would simply employ to replace an existing system.

This refers to the underlying technology that can help banks deliver newer types of payments and financial services. The broader goal is to give banks a common foundation for building and offering these types of services, all staying within the banking system and offering a trusted solution for the customer.

Membership will help shape the future, gain early visibility and connect with other banks. Membership gives banks an opportunity to influence the Alliance's product roadmap and priorities rather than waiting until everything is already built. Members can also participate in councils and working groups and connect with other members through educational programming and events.

• A voice in the direction of the Alliance. Members can help shape offerings, the roadmap and day-one use cases.
• Leadership opportunities. Inaugural members are eligible to nominate candidates for the Board of Directors and receive first consideration for committee participation, subject to qualifications and time commitments.
• Participation in councils and working groups. Banks can nominate people for Product & Technology, Standards Oversight, and Membership & Allocations groups.
• Networking and education. Members have access to virtual events and educational programming.
• Recognition. Inaugural members receive recognition through Alliance communications and other channels.
• Potential future investment opportunities. Members receive a right of first refusal on future investment opportunities in the Alliance.

Yes. The Alliance is intended for banks of all sizes. BankChain is intended to make advanced capabilities more accessible to institutions that may not have the resources to develop similar tools themselves. Community banks will have equal representation throughout BankChain, alongside large and regional banks and state bankers associations, showing the importance of these institutions in the Alliance.

A shared network can lower barriers to innovation and give banks access to capabilities that could otherwise require significant resources to develop independently. It also gives smaller institutions a seat at the table while the technology, standards and use cases are being developed.

No, the bank does not necessarily have to offer a digital-asset product. The alliance will be for movement of digital assets, not creation.

No. For banks choosing to nominate people to technical councils, however, the expectations are much more specific and include areas such as banking technology, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology operations. The Alliance is currently developing the network and targeting a 2027 launch. Membership today is focused in significant part on helping shape the roadmap, governance, standards and use cases.

Absolutely. The Alliance is currently developing the network and targeting a 2027 launch. Membership today is focused in significant part on helping shape the roadmap, governance, standards and use cases.

At the basic level, a bank can stay informed, participate in Alliance programming and provide input. A more active bank can nominate senior leaders to councils and working groups. Those groups have defined time commitments. For example, the website lists approximately 5–20 hours per month, depending on the group, with terms ranging from three to 12 months. So an "active member" could range from simply staying engaged to having executives directly involved in designing standards, technology and product direction.

Absolutely not. A formal time commitment is not required; a bank can be as involved as it wants and can be. Banks of all sizes will be equally represented in the governance and can reach out to members of committees and Alliance staff with ideas and feedback.

Membership is for U.S. based, insured depository institutions. Participation is voluntary, non-exclusive and available to eligible institutions on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

Absolutely, as long as the bank meets the qualifications.

Go to https://bankchainalliance.com/membership to learn more. First, the bank checks its membership dues based on total assets. Then it submits the membership application with bank information, contacts, authorization and payment information. The Alliance board then reviews the application, confirms the dues and sends an invoice. Once membership is confirmed, the bank is welcomed as an inaugural member.

Dues are scaled based on bank size and can be calculated for your bank here: https://bankchainalliance.com/membership/dues.

A bank can join during the current membership period without an immediate requirement to launch a customer product.

The Alliance received proposals in 2026 and is currently in the second phase of due diligence to determine the technology provider.