BLOOM Digital Money Initiative Expands Across Three ASEAN Central Banks

The BLOOM digital money initiative is expanding as the central banks of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand strengthen cooperation on cross-border financial transactions using digital money.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand had joined the programme to develop common approaches for digital money acceptance, settlement and interoperability.

The initiative covers tokenised bank deposits, regulated stablecoins and transactions across different payment networks.

Participating financial institutions and technology companies include Airwallex, Mastercard, Maybank, Nium, Ripple, Visa and the World Bank Group.

BLOOM will focus on improving cross-border settlement arrangements and connectivity between financial networks.

It will also examine programmable transaction controls, including identity verification, sanctions screening and transaction limits.

For businesses, financial institutions and family offices managing assets across Southeast Asia, the initiative could eventually improve payment efficiency and support more integrated regional financial services.