The rise of digital assets in payments and financial services | Lee McNabb, NatWest Group
Oana Ifrim
23 Jul 2026 / 16 Min Read
NatWest Group's Head of Digital Assets, Lee McNabb, shares why digital assets will define the next era of money.
Money is undergoing one of the biggest transformations in history. As digital assets gain momentum, they are fundamentally reshaping how money moves, how transactions are settled, and how banks and customers interact.
Lead Writer Oana Ifrim sat down with Lee McNabb, Head of Digital Assets at NatWest Group, to explore how digital assets are redefining banking – from the differences between CBDCs, tokenized deposits, and stablecoins, to the modernisation of payment infrastructure and the critical role of institutional trust in driving adoption.
Key themes explored in the video interview:
Digital assets are transforming how value is recorded and transferred, enabling faster, more efficient settlement.
Tokenized deposits offer banks a way to combine programmable money with the existing banking model.
Stablecoins, CBDCs, and tokenized deposits will coexist, each serving different use cases.
Widespread adoption depends on clear regulation, common standards, and modernised payment infrastructure.
Banks must build trust through secure, customer-focused digital asset solutions backed by strong risk management and custody capabilities.
Collaboration between commercial banks and central banks will be critical to driving innovation while maintaining financial stability.
Lee McNabb explains why tokenized deposits are likely to play a central role for commercial banks, combining innovation with financial stability. Success will depend on regulation, industry collaboration, and banks' ability to leverage their expertise and customer trust in a rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.
About Lee McNabb
Lee leads digital assets for NatWest Group. His role covers many elements including assessing the landscape, defining strategic opportunities, engaging with the regulators, driving innovation and supporting customers across multiple brands in collaboration with internal and external partners. Lee joined NatWest in 2018 after 13 years at the Co-operative Bank, where he held senior leadership roles within product and payments.
About NatWest Group
NatWest serves 20 million customers across retail, commercial and private banking across the UK. We help people, families, and businesses build financial confidence and thrive - whether that’s opening a first account, buying a home, growing a business, or planning for the future. Alongside a wide range of banking services, we provide specialist sector expertise and entrepreneurial support, helping our business customers turn possibilities into progress.
The Paypers is a global hub for market insights, real-time news, expert interviews, and in-depth analyses and resources across payments, fintech, and the digital economy. We deliver reports, webinars, and commentary on key topics, including regulation, real-time payments, cross-border payments and ecommerce, digital identity, payment innovation and infrastructure, Open Banking, Embedded Finance, crypto, fraud and financial crime prevention, and more – all developed in collaboration with industry experts and leaders.
