The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) have become policymaker members of BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency). Under the initiative, the three central banks will work with industry participants in their respective jurisdictions to develop common approaches to how different forms of digital money can be accepted, exchanged, and settled across institutions, networks, and jurisdictions.
The new memberships come alongside an expansion of BLOOM’s industry participation. Airwallex, Mastercard, Maybank, Monee, Nium, Ripple, ShopeePay, Visa, and the World Bank Group have also joined the initiative.
A public-private framework for digital money
BLOOM is structured as a public-private initiative that brings together policymakers, financial institutions, payment networks, and technology providers. Its purpose is to advance the use of digital money in cross-border financial activity at a time when financial institutions and jurisdictions are developing separate use cases, including for tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins. According to MAS, optimised coordination between these efforts will be needed for digital money to be used effectively across borders.
The initiative aims to deepen engagement between regulators and industry on settlement infrastructure and on frameworks that support interoperability for cross-border digital money transactions. This includes examining how relevant international standards and jurisdiction-specific supervisory expectations can be applied to such transactions, while allowing for differences in local requirements.
Three areas of focus
According to the official announcement, participants will concentrate on three areas. The first covers acceptance and settlement across jurisdictions. It examines how financial institutions accept different forms of digital money for cross-border transactions, how counterparties contract with one another, and how transactions are ultimately settled across institutions and markets.
The second addresses interoperability between digital money arrangements. This includes the technical and operational approaches required for different systems to operate across networks, infrastructures, and borders. The third concerns programmable controls, such as identity verification, sanctions screening, and transaction controls within digital money transactions.
Collectively, participants are working on applications across payments, treasury. and trade finance. These span tokenised deposits, regulated stablecoins, as well as settlement across payment networks.
Implications for institutions and regulators
BLOOM is intended to reduce the need for financial institutions to set up separate arrangements with each counterparty or market. It will do this by developing implementation frameworks and aligning commercial and operating arrangements. MAS expects this to lower implementation costs and shorten time to market for participating institutions. Central bank involvement is designed to ensure that public policy and regulatory considerations are reflected as these approaches are developed.
The World Bank Group participates as a Multilateral Development Bank. It is expected to contribute experience in payment systems modernisation, cross-border payments, and financial inclusion, as well as to bring the perspectives and needs of developing economies to the initiative.
For the central banks involved, BLOOM also serves as an input into regulatory thinking. Dr Daranee Saeju, Deputy Governor for Payment Systems Stability and Financial Services Supervision, BOT, said the collaboration would help inform forward-looking regulatory approaches to tokenised money, particularly in cross-border payments and wholesale settlement. It was also added that it would allow BOT to explore emerging developments while keeping its oversight prudent, proportionate, and responsive to evolving risks. Mr Aznan bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Governor, BNM, described cross-border payments using multiple digital monies as closer to becoming a practical reality. In addition, Mr Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director (Markets and Development), MAS, noted that addressing practical issues around acceptance, settlement, and interoperability will require collaboration between policymakers and industry participants.
