Delivery versus Payment (DvP)
A settlement arrangement in which a security is delivered only if, and only when, payment is made.
Delivery versus payment is a long-established principle of securities settlement. It links the transfer of a security to the transfer of cash so that neither party is exposed to losing the full value of the trade if the other defaults.
International standards for financial market infrastructures — the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures — treat DvP as a core requirement for securities settlement systems. Tokenization does not replace the principle; it changes how it can be achieved.
On a shared ledger, DvP can be enforced in code and settled atomically. Across separate ledgers — for example, a tokenized bond on one platform and cash in a conventional payment system — achieving DvP requires interoperability between systems, which is where much current institutional work is focused.
In practice
- Tokenized bond issuances by public-sector issuers and banks have used DvP settlement against tokenized cash or central bank money in pilot and production settings.
- Market infrastructure operators are working on links that allow on-ledger assets to settle against conventional payment rails without breaking DvP.
Primary sources
- Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures ↗CPMI-IOSCO
- Building the Path Towards Digital Asset Securities InteroperabilityDTCC, Clearstream, Euroclear and Boston Consulting Group, 2026
Related concepts
All concepts
An independent TokenShares explainer. Informational only; the cited publications are the authoritative sources.