Handing Control to Banks: FIS and Project Keystone

Six US financial institutions will join FIS for participation in Project Keystone, a digital network allowing settlements to either settle in totality or not at all. 

The institutions include Citizens Bank, Fifth Third, KeyBank M&T Bank and Huntingdon Bank. 

Project Keystone, a network for moving money, is designed to operate across different portfolios. FIS says that the collection of financial institutions is reflective of the breadth for which project Keystone is “designed to operate”.  

Money moving through the network is regulated and bank-issued ensuring that the network is not only compliant but also keeping in step with digital asset legacy. 

Participating banks will be able to transfer, issue and settle regulated deposits in digital form on the shared network. 

The company says its aim is to make settlement more efficient by eliminating “partial failures” that are associated with conventional interbank settlement. The network supports this through the action of either simply settling or not settling at all. 

Jim Johnson, Co-President of Banking Solutions at FIS notes: “Banks are the cornerstone of trust in the financial system, and they should define how digital money evolves.”

What is behind Project Keystone? 

The announcement jumps on the company’s recent announcement of its proprietary platform Lyriq. 

Built with compliance at the forefront, the platform supports 24/7 settlement for transactions, working with existing core banking systems. 

Able to work with the any technology provider, Lyriq brings banks the ability to confidently settle transactions with finality. 

Additionally, banks can control and issue their own digital currency as well as tokenised deposits. 

Jim continues:  “The digital money space has no shortage of technology looking for adoption. What it has lacked is banks moving together with shared administration and infrastructure among financial institutions. 

“Project Keystone brings together institutions of different sizes, charters and core providers - because a network that doesn't work for all of them doesn't work.” 

FIS and its digital asset strategy 

The global fintech claims that the Lyriq platform is so far one of the most-tested bank-centric digital asset platforms today. 

After paring with financial institutions to complete seven proof-of-concepts, the platform is what Jim calls “ a platform proven with financial institutions – one that meets banks and regulators where they are”. 

Introducing Lyriq is another step in FIS’s global digital asset strategy.  Lyriq is described by the company as the “foundational structure” for FIS’ digital asset strategy. 

It acts as a hub for financial institutions to connect themselves and their services to, designed for multiple uses over time, as opposed to a single one. 

Lyriq is currently concentrating on supporting domestic tokenized deposits and international financial institutions. 

This includes providing digital euro services and integration for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) programmes in the EMEA and APAC regions. 

Its focus incorporates ISO 20022 support to align with global digital money initiatives.

Jim notes: “FIS is bringing the future of digital money into the present. Lyriq is production-ready infrastructure that, combined with our deep expertise integrating bank technology, puts banks in control of money in motion.”