Deutsche Bank completes first live client transaction through Pontes

Deutsche Bank has enabled the payment leg of a €100m tokenised commercial paper issued by BayernLB, with Siemens as investor, DekaBank as custodian and payment service provider, and SWIAT providing the blockchain infrastructure and acting as the crypto securities register.

The transaction marks Deutsche Bank’s first live client transaction using Pontes, the Eurosystem’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) settlement solution that launched on 21 September 2026.

Pontes connects DLT platforms with the Eurosystem’s existing TARGET Services, enabling wholesale tokenised assets to settle in central bank money. This gives investors “confidence to engage in tokenisation without price volatility or risk-limit constraints in the settlement asset they use”, Thomas Vlassopoulos, Director General Market Infrastructure and Payments at the European Central Bank, told flow on the day of the launch.

Deutsche Bank is one of 13 banks that have already completed the onboarding process and are now able to make transactions via Pontes.¹

As Siemens’ payment service provider, Deutsche Bank received the payment instruction, debited the client account and settled the payment directly with DekaBank via Pontes. DekaBank then completed the on-chain settlement of the asset and cash (Pontes) on Siemens’ behalf.

Frankfurt-based fintech SWIAT provided the blockchain infrastructure that will become the future Regulated Layer One (RL1) Blockchain, a synchronizer for achieving automated delivery versus payment (DvP) between the DLT and Pontes. RL1 was established in July 2026 as “Europe’s neutral, collaborative DLT network developed specifically for regulated financial markets”². SWIAT also maintained the crypto securities register for the commercial paper issuance.

What made the transaction distinctive was the combination of the tokenised securities issuance with the corresponding payment. The coordinated end-to-end process was designed to complete within minutes, helping to reduce settlement risk and improve efficiency.

“For us, innovation in treasury means testing new technologies in real business processes. Through this transaction, we are gaining valuable hands-on experience with a new digital settlement structure”, says Michael Nanda, Head of Treasury Risk Management at Siemens, stressing that the interaction between all participants across the transaction chain was particularly important. “Together with our banking and technology partners, we can test new solutions under real-world conditions and contribute to shaping the capital market infrastructure of the future.”

As digital assets increasingly move into the mainstream, the transaction could offer a blueprint for what comes next. According to Deutsche Bank Research, the global tokenised assets market, excluding stablecoins, grew from approximately US$10bn in January 2025 to US$39bn in September 2026. Potential benefits include faster transfers, automated servicing and smaller investment units.³

“The transaction demonstrates how Deutsche Bank supports clients as capital markets adopt tokenised infrastructure. It marks an important first step in developing a scalable servicing model for payments in tokenised financial markets,” commented Gerald Podobnik, Co-Head of Deutsche Bank Corporate Bank.

Sources

¹ See Eurosystem ermöglicht Abwicklung tokenisierter Finanzmarkttransaktionen in Zentralbankgeld at ecb.europa.eu
² See European Blockchain Initiative 'Regulated Layer One' Goes Live | Regulated Layer One at rl1.network
³ See Asset Tokenization 101: The Next Phase of Financial Infrastructure at dbresearch.de