Uber Tests Tokenized Money Market Funds with HSBC and Franklin Templeton to Put Idle Cash to Work

Uber has completed a pilot program with banking giant HSBC and asset manager Franklin Templeton to explore how tokenization can help companies put idle cash to work more efficiently. The test allowed Uber to keep its funds invested in money market products while still accessing cash for payments, even on weekends. This is significant because traditional money market funds typically settle only during business hours, leaving corporate treasuries unable to deploy cash around the clock. By tokenizing fund shares on a blockchain, the pilot aimed to enable real-time settlement and continuous liquidity, potentially unlocking billions in trapped corporate cash. HSBC and Franklin Templeton are among the growing number of financial institutions experimenting with asset tokenization to improve capital efficiency. For Uber, which processes massive daily payment volumes, the ability to earn yield on cash until the moment it is needed could add meaningful revenue. The pilot is part of a broader industry push toward programmable money and 24/7 financial infrastructure. If scaled, such systems could reshape how global companies manage working capital and interact with traditional financial markets.