BIS Hails Project Nexus Success

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, Singapore centre, says it has successfully connected test versions of three instant payment systems across the Eurosystem, Malaysia and Singapore.

The project, Nexus, is a first-of-its-kind multilateral network connecting multiple domestic instant payment systems, BIS says, adding the next phase of the project will see the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand work to connect their IPS through Nexus. The project can be scaled up across more countries, BIS Innovation Hub, says.

The year-long collaboration included the Bank of Italy, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), plus the payment systems operators PayNet and Banking Computer Services (BCS). Test payments were initiated using only the mobile phone numbers or the recipients’ company registration numbers via the Eurosystem’s Target Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS), Malaysia’s Real-time Retail Payments Platform (RPP) and Singapore’s Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) payment system. “The success of the experiment paves the way for the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre to explore the practical applications of a distributed multilateral network,” BIS says.

Looking ahead, the BIS and the five central banks envisage that Nexus could eventually be implemented globally. To achieve this, they will aim to establish a global advisory panel of central banks and payment system operators to advise on the project’s development beyond the south-east Asian region. The Bank of Italy and the European Central Bank will be invited to join this panel, BIS says.

“I am thrilled at our success in connecting three national payment systems and the potential this indicates for Nexus,” says Cecilia Skingsley, head of the BIS Innovation Hub. “It paves the way for further development, and we look forward to collaborating with our partner central banks on the next phase of the project.”