BIS, Five ASEAN central banks to test Nexus cross-border payments

The central banks of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand are set to conduct larger-scale tests of Nexus cross-border transactions. They are collaborating with Bank for International Settlements (BIS), based in Switzerland, to establish a cross-border payment gateway that links their national payment systems. BIS stated that this move will enable cross-border transactions across a combined population of approximately 500 million individuals. This initiative follows the successful one-year trial of Project Nexus, which involved the Bank of Italy, Bank Negara Malaysia, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and payment systems operators PayNet and Banking Computer Services. According to Cecilia Skingsley, the head of BIS Innovation Hub, this development enables users to conduct transactions through their domestic Instant Payment System (IPS) and complete the process within a minute.