Jack Henry expands Google Cloud partnership for tokenised deposits

By Divya Shah

Why it matters: For FinTechs, the partnership highlights opportunities in digital asset payments, programmable money, real-time settlement, and embedded finance. It also signals growing demand from community banks and credit unions for blockchain-enabled services delivered through trusted technology providers.

Jack Henry has expanded its collaboration with Google Cloud to help banks and credit unions explore tokenised deposits through Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), a distributed ledger platform designed for real-time asset and payment settlement.

As part of the expanded relationship, Jack Henry will serve as the core technology provider integrating with GCUL, enabling financial institutions to access tokenised deposit infrastructure and explore new digital payment and settlement capabilities. 

GCUL is a fully managed distributed ledger service that allows financial institutions to tokenise and transfer money and assets on a shared, real-time ledger with programmable settlement functionality available around the clock. 

The initiative comes as banks and credit unions face growing competition from larger financial institutions and FintTech providers amid increasing demand for real-time, seamless, and programmable financial services. Through the integration, financial institutions connected to Jack Henry’s ecosystem will be able to evaluate emerging digital asset use cases while maintaining existing customer relationships and deposit accounts. 

Ben Metz, Chief Technology Officer at Jack Henry, said, “Tokenised deposits have the potential to reshape how money moves across the financial ecosystem. Our strategy is centred on helping financial institutions navigate emerging technologies and access innovative capabilities through trusted, scalable infrastructure. By expanding our work with Google Cloud and serving as the first core technology provider to use GCUL, we’re helping community banks and credit unions explore new opportunities while building on the relationships, service, and expertise that have always set them apart.” 

According to the companies, the integration combines modern ledger technology with cloud-based infrastructure to support digital asset innovation and next-generation payment capabilities. 

James Tromans, Director of Web3 and Digital Assets at Google Cloud, said, “Google Cloud Universal Ledger provides a secure and scalable foundation for programmable value exchange. Through our collaboration with Jack Henry, we are bringing advanced digital asset capabilities to community and regional financial institutions, helping them build on the relationships and trust they have established with their customers.” 

The collaboration is expected to provide several benefits for financial institutions, including enhanced deposit retention through new digital payment capabilities and support for near real-time settlement. The platform also enables automated and programmable payment workflows that can operate continuously across a growing network of institutions, currencies, and asset classes. 

Through Jack Henry’s existing technology architecture, the integration aims to simplify adoption while reducing operational complexity for participating institutions. The partnership also combines Google Cloud’s distributed ledger infrastructure with Jack Henry’s banking technology platform to provide a secure and scalable foundation for future digital asset services. 

In addition, the companies said the platform is designed to improve capital efficiency through automated clearing and multilateral netting processes, helping institutions scale digital asset activities without requiring pre-funded accounts or additional liquidity commitments. 

The move reflects growing interest across the banking industry in tokenised deposits and blockchain-based payment infrastructure as financial institutions seek to modernise money movement, improve settlement efficiency, and support emerging digital asset use cases.