BIS to launch cross-border payments platform

In a bid to link India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines’ instant digital payment systems, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), considered the central bankers’ central bank, intends to introduce an instant cross-border retail platform by 2026. Being part of Project Nexus, the current move intends to improve cross-border payments between the five countries.

With India and the four other countries being the founding members of the platform, and Indonesia serving as a special observer, Project Nexus is set to potentially connect a market of 1.7 billion individuals worldwide, enabling them to conduct instant payments more conveniently.

As a BIS Innovation Hub project, Nexus focuses on optimising cross-border payments by merging multiple domestic instant payment systems (IPS) worldwide. Also, it is among the first projects from the BIS Innovation Hub in the payments sector to move towards live implementation, with the BIS having an advisory role as it prepares its operational scheme. Together with its partners, the BIS announced the completion of a comprehensive blueprint for phase three of Project Nexus, allowing participants to begin the next phase of connecting their instant payment systems.

Furthermore, phase four is set to see participants who collaborated in phase three, including Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Bank of Thailand and domestic IPS operators, connected by the Reserve Bank of India. Through this, India can expand the potential user base of its Unified Payments Interface (UPI). In addition, Nexus has been developed to standardise how domestic IPS connect, with IPS operators only being required to make one connection to Nexus instead of creating custom ones for every new country.

Also, to support live implementation, the partner central banks and IPS operators agreed to develop an additional entity, the Nexus Scheme Organisation (NSO), which is set to be responsible for administrating the Nexus Scheme.