Field Guide, plain English, for forwarding internally. Educational; figures illustrative; not financial advice.
44orm Finance Field Guide
Field guide, plain English, for institutions

What 4orm is, what it isn't, and how your bank works with it.

Designed to be Canada's first institution-grade real-world asset (RWA) exchange and digital settlement network, purpose-built for banks and credit unions. Sandbox-stage; not a crypto exchange; not retail; not a stablecoin.

Not a crypto exchange Not retail Not a stablecoin Canadian-first Sandbox-stage
How it works →
T+0
Atomic settlement vs T+1 to T+2 today. Liquidity freed at trade time, not next morning.
~45%
Less compliance labour. Rail-level canonical sanctions screening removes the manual disposition tail.
$16T
Real-world assets tokenized globally by 2030 (BCG / Bank of Canada). The Canadian share is being decided now.
186
Canadian institutions in the addressable network on a single shared regulated rail.
The six things to know

The whole picture in six cards.

1

The problem

  • Liquidity trapped in T+1/T+2 settlement and prefunded balances.
  • Real-world assets sit illiquid; collateral can't be mobilized.
  • Manual compliance is expensive; Canadian activity drifts offshore.
2

What 4orm is

A neutral, shared, regulated rail for issuing, trading and settling tokenized real-world assets in Canada. The kind of infrastructure JPMorgan built privately for itself (Kinexys, formerly Onyx; $1T+ settled), made available as shared infrastructure for Canadian institutions.

3

Where your bank sits

  • You keep the client, the deposits, the rails, the risk decisions.
  • 4orm runs the chain layer, compliance and settlement underneath.
  • You don't run a blockchain. It integrates with your core, doesn't replace it.
4

The headline product

Tokenized deposit: a digital, on-ledger version of money a client already holds at the bank. A direct, regulated claim on your bank. Same prudential rules, same AML obligations. Not a stablecoin. Not retail crypto. Featured in detail below.

5

What it saves

  • T+0  settlement instead of T+2. Liquidity freed, not trapped.
  • ~45% less compliance labour (rail-level canonical screening).
  • Self-reconciling shared ledger, fewer breaks, less ops overhead.
6

How to start

  • A small, controlled closed-loop pilot with a known counterparty.
  • Connect custody and a regulated CAD settlement asset; list a first asset.
  • Go live on the shared marketplace. No big-bang migration.
Deep-dive: the headline product

A tokenized deposit is your bank's money, just on a shared ledger.

A direct, regulated claim on the issuing bank, the same legal relationship as a conventional deposit, just represented on-chain. It can pay interest and stays inside your regulated perimeter. Deposit-insurance treatment by CDIC to be confirmed under federal guidance as the tokenized-deposit regime matures.

What a tokenized deposit IS

  • A liability of your bank, same as a conventional deposit
  • Subject to the same prudential rules and AML obligations
  • Can pay interest, just like a regular deposit
  • Settles inside the regulated banking system
  • A building block: compounds when paired with tokenized assets for atomic DvP

What it is NOT

  • Not a stablecoin (no pooled reserve mechanic)
  • Not a crypto asset and not retail-traded
  • Not held on consumer exchanges
  • Not a balance-sheet workaround or off-perimeter instrument
  • Not a replacement for your core banking; it sits alongside
Common questions

The questions your team will ask first.

Do we have to run a blockchain?
No. 4orm runs the chain layer; you keep your existing core banking systems. Your team interacts through standard ISO 20022 / REST APIs, not a node operator console.
Is this crypto?
No. Tokenized bank deposits are a regulated, on-ledger claim on your bank, the same legal instrument as a conventional deposit. They are not a crypto asset, not a stablecoin, and are not sold or traded on consumer crypto exchanges.
What does it cost?
It depends on scale and which capabilities you start with. See the savings model on the What It Saves page for illustrative numbers, or reach out directly to talk through your institution's specifics.
How quickly could we pilot?
The platform can be ready for a closed-loop pilot in 8 to 12 weeks. Institutional onboarding timelines vary by bank and typically run 6 to 12 months end-to-end from MOU to first transaction: internal procurement, risk approval, integration testing, regulatory consultation, and compliance sign-off all take real time. The platform-readiness side is fast; the institutional-readiness side is the honest pacing.
How does it integrate with our core?
Through standard ISO 20022 messages and REST APIs. 4orm sits beside your core, not in it. No ledger migration, no replacement of any system of record. Your treasury, payments and reporting teams use familiar formats and standard endpoints.
What about regulators?
4orm maps to OSFI (B-10 third-party risk, B-13 tech/cyber risk, E-21 operational risk), FINTRAC (PCMLTFA, LCTR/EFTR/STR), CSA (NI 31-103, NI 21-101/23-101), Bank of Canada (RPAA / Lynx oversight), AMF Quebec, FSRA Ontario and other provincial CU regulators, plus PIPEDA and Quebec Law 25. Full mapping on the Risk & Compliance and Supervision pages.
Who can join the network?
Canadian Schedule I banks, Schedule II banks, federally-regulated credit unions, provincially-regulated credit unions, caisses populaires, and qualified trust companies. The directory of 186 institutions is on The Network page. The Big 6 are building their own; 4orm is for everyone else.
What does "atomic settlement" mean?
Delivery-versus-payment (DvP) where the asset leg and the cash leg settle in the same instant, or not at all. There is no overnight wait, no credit-exposure window between trade and settlement. Both sides settle together, or neither does. Project Samara (Bank of Canada, March 2026) proved C$100M tokenized bonds can settle this way today on a permissioned Canadian ledger.

Want the full version, or a conversation?

Run the sandbox end-to-end, or reach out to walk through your institution's specifics with us.

Open the sandbox → compliance@kcs-capital.com
Questions, or want to walk through this with us? compliance@kcs-capital.com · 4orm Finance is built and operated by KCS Capital.