Programmable settlement is the use of software-defined rules to coordinate or execute settlement when specified conditions are satisfied.
Programmable settlement can link the transfer of money to the transfer of another asset, an external event, a time condition, or a sequence of approvals. Smart contracts can support delivery-versus-payment, payment-versus-payment, escrow, margin, and other workflows on tokenized platforms. The economic and legal finality of the resulting settlement still depends on the settlement assets, platform rules, and applicable law.
Programmable settlement automates the settlement process. Programmable money places conditions on the monetary units themselves.
Programmable settlement can reduce manual coordination between transaction legs while increasing the importance of code quality, data inputs, and clearly defined finality.
A smart contract can transfer a tokenized bond and release the corresponding digital cash only when both settlement legs are ready.