Global banks test US$1M tokenised payments

• More than 40 banks completed a US$1 million pilot using tokenised money for cross-border payments.
• The test explored faster and more efficient international transactions.
• The project will move to real-value transactions with selected participants.

Bank for International Settlements Project Agorá brought together more than 40 financial institutions to test US$1 million in tokenised cross-border payments.

The pilot used tokenised central bank money and bank deposits to process international payments across several countries.

The Bank for International Settlements said the pilot showed tokenised money could improve wholesale cross-border payments.

The project included central banks and commercial banks from the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Switzerland, Mexico and South Korea.

The Bank for International Settlements said the project will now move to real-value transactions with selected participants.

Project Agorá is testing whether tokenised money can make international payments faster while keeping today's banking system.

Many global banks are exploring tokenised payments as they look for faster and more efficient ways to move money across borders.