BIS’s Project Nexus prototype successfully links Eurosystem, Malaysia and Singapore payments systems; partners in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to work towards wider payments connectivity

The BIS Innovation Hub published a report on Project Nexus, an initiative that aims to improve instant cross-border payments.
Indeed, cross-border payments are often slow, costly, and frustrating, with significant costs imposed on individuals and businesses. In contrast, domestic instant payment systems (IPS) in over 60 countries reach their destination in seconds at near-zero cost. Nexus seeks to link up multiple instant payment systems on a distributed network to improve the speed, cost, transparency, and accessibility of cross-border payments.
Connecting countries one-to-one becomes complex because every IPS has different technical standards, business processes, and regulatory requirements. Nexus addresses these challenges by making it easier to interlink multiple instant payment systems on a standardized and multilateral approach. Nexus is designed with a strong focus on usability and user experience. It allows proxies such as mobile phone numbers to be used for cross-border payments, avoiding the need for entering long international bank account numbers.
The BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre and its partners have successfully linked the test versions of three established IPS using the Nexus model, paving the way for a multilateral network that could be scaled up across more countries. The project involved a year-long collaboration with the Bank of Italy, Central Bank of Malaysia, and Monetary Authority of Singapore, as well as payment systems operators PayNet and Banking Computer Services. The test payments were initiated using mobile phone numbers or company registration numbers through the Eurosystem’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement, Malaysia’s Real-time Retail Payments Platform, and Singapore’s Fast and Secure Transfers payment system. The next phase will involve central banks from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand working together to connect their domestic IPS through Nexus and focus on exploring the real-world potential of the multilateral network.
A range of design workshops with over 50 participants helped to identify the data exchange and functionality that Nexus would need to support. The framework is comprehensive but not final, and feedback is welcome. On 5 April 2023, the BIS has scheduled a webinar to discuss the proof of concept for the Nexus project. If you would like to register for this webinar, please click on the provided link.