The Bank of England, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Bank of Thailand have announced a joint initiative to explore the technical and policy implications of synchronised foreign exchange (FX) settlements across borders. This collaboration aims to test the interoperability of central banks’ Real Time Gross Settlement systems and Distributed Ledger Technology-based environments.
Building on insights from Project Meridian FX, the central banks will conduct experiments to enable atomic, real-time FX transactions that are secure and interoperable. The project will explore the potential of synchronisation to support Payment versus Payment FX settlement across jurisdictions with varying infrastructures, time zones, and regulatory frameworks.
Tom Mutton, Director of Fintech at the Bank of England, stated, “This project explores, in more realistic conditions, how synchronisation solutions might support an open and effective global financial system by providing a new, innovative FX settlement channel.”
Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer at MAS, highlighted the importance of international cooperation in fostering open and interoperable networks. He said, “We look forward to exploring how synchronised settlement can enhance interoperability across different jurisdictions and infrastructures.”
Thammarak Moenjak, Senior Director at the Bank of Thailand, noted that the initiative could enhance the efficiency of FX Payment versus Payment transactions and support cross-border Delivery versus Payment use cases.
This collaboration underscores the central banks’ commitment to developing financial infrastructure that enhances cross-border interoperability of tokenised transactions, potentially transforming the global FX settlement landscape.
