Texas Explores Digital Payments Backed by Gold and Silver

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is seeking industry input on potential models for a digital payment system backed by physical bullion through a recently issued request for information (RFI).

The RFI, issued Jan. 13, comes in response to House Bill 1056, which mandates the creation of a transactional payment system by May 2027 using a digital instrument backed by gold or silver stored in the Texas Bullion Depository.

The Comptroller’s Office is looking to better understand the landscape of commercially available offerings, including debit card–style products, digital wallets and other mechanisms that could enable secure, scalable peer-to-peer or point-of-sale transactions using bullion reserves as collateral.

According to the RFI, the state is particularly interested in responses from entities capable of supporting a public-private partnership model. The legislation does not allocate state funding, and any future payment system would be supported through service fees. Respondents are encouraged to propose systems that address adoption, liquidity and regulatory compliance while remaining constitutional under federal limitations on states coining money.

The depository, based in Leander, currently stores precious metals on behalf of both public and private entities and is operated in partnership with Lonestar Tangible Assets LP. The facility includes high-security infrastructure, COMEX-scale liquidity and encrypted digital access for account holders.

The RFI outlines a series of 27 detailed questions seeking information about system architecture, payment workflows, tokenization, KYC/AML compliance and fee structures. It invites vendors to explain how they would enable secure, real-time transactions backed by bullion, propose strategies for integrating with existing payment networks, and outline how digital instruments or tokens might function within constitutional constraints. Additional questions address liquidation workflows, user authentication, AML/CFT controls and how a fee-based revenue model could sustain operations in the absence of state funding.

More detailed information about RFI No. 908-26-031326MS, including all minimum requirements and requested services, can be found online. The deadline for question submissions is 2 p.m. Feb. 6. The due date for responses is 2 p.m. March 13. Michelle Shih is the point of contact for this RFI.