The Bank for International Settlements will launch a real-value transaction test for digital cross-border payments projects.

On May 28th, Bloomberg reported that the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and its partners are preparing to launch a real-value transaction test for Project Agorá, a digital cross-border payments initiative. This project includes the BIS, seven central banks, and over 40 regulatory bodies, such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England, along with firms like JPMorgan Chase, UBS, and Deutsche Bank. The prototype employs a "unified ledger" concept, utilizing blockchain technology to facilitate interbank transfers between different countries in mere seconds, with transactions executed in an "atomic" fashion. The system preserves existing sanctions enforcement and anti-money laundering screening processes. The BIS has indicated that tokenization offers a secure and efficient solution to the inefficiencies present in wholesale cross-border payments. The Bank of Canada has already joined the project, and further private institutions are anticipated to participate.