BIS says tokenization can improve wholesale cross-border payments
The BIS Project Agorá initiative demonstrates that tokenization can enable efficient, atomic settlement for wholesale cross-border payments across multiple jurisdictions.Summary
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported that its Project Agorá prototype successfully achieved atomic, all-or-nothing settlement for cross-border wholesale transactions. By using a layered architecture, the initiative allows central banks to maintain autonomy while operating on a shared, interoperable platform that addresses current inefficiencies like settlement delays and counterparty risk.
The project involves seven central banks and over 40 private financial institutions, with the Bank of Canada recently joining as the eighth participant. Legal analysis confirms settlement finality is achievable across participating jurisdictions, while privacy is maintained through data-shielding technologies. Future stages will focus on real-value testing and expanding the role of private sector collaboration to enhance fraud detection and regulatory compliance.
(Source：The Block)