Lloyds tokenisation survey finds 71 per cent of senior UK finance leaders expect it to reshape finance
Updated: 7 days ago
Continuing their visibility for tokenisation news, at the end of last week, Lloyds Banking Group put out a press release about its tenth annual Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey and reported that 71 per cent of the senior decision-makers polled expect tokenisation to reshape financial services. The Lloyds tokenisation survey covers 100 leaders at the UK's largest banks, insurers, financial sponsors and asset and wealth managers.
Tokenisation means recording ownership of an asset, such as cash, a bond or a fund, on a blockchain, a shared digital ledger, so that it can be transferred and settled more quickly. Financial sponsors are private equity and similar investors that buy and back companies.
What the Lloyds tokenisation survey found
Beyond the headline, Lloyds reported that 77 per cent of respondents now treat investment in emerging technologies as a growth priority, up from 41 per cent in the 2025 survey. A further 64 per cent plan to increase capital expenditure, the money spent on systems and equipment, over the next 12 months.
On benefits, 60 per cent named faster payments and settlement as the main advantage of tokenisation, and 41 per cent named collateral and liquidity management. Settlement is the exchange of an asset for payment. Collateral is the assets a firm pledges to back a trade or a loan.
These are the figures in the Lloyds press release. This article has not seen the underlying questionnaire, so it cannot say how the questions were worded or whether respondents could pick more than one benefit.
Where UK financial institutions say tokenisation fits
Two Lloyds executives framed the results. Lisa Francis, Global Head of CIB Coverage at Lloyds, said organisations are exploring how tokenisation can help them transact safely, improve efficiency and make better use of capital. Rob Hale, Co-Head of Global Markets, said the next phase involves scaling individual use cases into infrastructure that connects digital and traditional markets.
Lloyds has live work to point to. Its release says that earlier in 2026 it partnered with Archax and Canton Network to complete what it describes as the UK's first public blockchain transaction using tokenised deposits to buy a tokenised gilt. A tokenised deposit is a bank deposit recorded on a blockchain, and a gilt is a UK government bond. On 30 September 2026 Lloyds also announced a seven-day pilot in which it settled US$750,000 with Visa using the USDC stablecoin, a token designed to hold the value of the US dollar. Lloyds described that work as a pilot.
What a 100-person survey from Lloyds can and cannot show
The survey measures expectation and priority, not deployment. A senior leader who expects tokenisation to reshape the industry has not necessarily put a product into production, and the sample is drawn from the largest institutions, not the startups that would build many of the tools.
It is also published by a bank with its own tokenisation projects. That does not make the figures wrong, but it is context for how they are framed.
For a UK founder selling settlement, custody or collateral software to banks, the 64 per cent planning higher capital expenditure is the figure to watch, because that is the budget a bank would buy such tools from. Lloyds does not say how much of the spending is aimed at tokenisation. A survey like this is a signal that procurement conversations are likely to start, not proof that they have. The gap to track over the next year is between the 71 per cent who expect change and the live volumes banks are prepared to disclose.
Key takeaways
Lloyds Banking Group published its tenth Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey on 2 October 2026, polling 100 senior decision-makers at the UK's largest financial institutions.
71 per cent of respondents expect tokenisation to reshape financial services, and 60 per cent named faster payments and settlement as the main benefit.
77 per cent now see investment in emerging technologies as a growth priority, up from 41 per cent in 2025, and 64 per cent plan higher capital expenditure.
The figures measure expectation, not live use, and come from a survey published by a bank with its own tokenisation projects.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What did the Lloyds tokenisation survey find?
Lloyds Banking Group's tenth Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey, published on 2 October 2026, found that 71 per cent of 100 senior decision-makers at the UK's largest financial institutions expect tokenisation to reshape financial services. The survey measures expectation, not live use.
What do UK financial institutions see as the main benefits of tokenisation?
In the Lloyds survey, 60 per cent named faster payments and settlement as the main advantage of tokenisation, and 41 per cent named collateral and liquidity management.
Are UK financial institutions increasing technology investment?
According to Lloyds, 77 per cent of respondents now treat investment in emerging technologies as a growth priority, up from 41 per cent in 2025, and 64 per cent plan to increase capital expenditure over the next 12 months. Lloyds does not say how much of that spending is aimed at tokenisation.
What tokenisation projects has Lloyds Banking Group carried out?
Earlier in 2026, Lloyds partnered with Archax and Canton Network on what it describes as the UK's first public blockchain transaction using tokenised deposits to buy a tokenised gilt. On 30 September 2026 it also announced a seven-day pilot settling US$750,000 with Visa using the USDC stablecoin.
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