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A prototype payment platform developed by the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank of Thailand, People's Bank of China, and Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, demonstrated the potential of using multiple central bank digital currency (mCBDC) and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for delivering real-time, cheaper and safer cross-border payments and settlements. The mBridge project common prototype platform for mCBDC settlements, part of phase two of Project Inthanon-LionRock, was able to complete international transfers and foreign exchange operations in seconds, as opposed to the several days normally required for any transaction to be completed using the existing network of commercial banks and operate in a 24/7 basis. The cost of such operations to users can also be reduced by up to half.

Oliver Wyman and JP Morgan published a joint report exploring how a multiple central bank digital currency (mCBDC) network could save corporates money. They estimate that corporate wholesale payments amount to $24 trillion a year and cost $120 billion, which could fall to $100 billion using an mCBDC network. The savings will come at the expense of banks, via the loss of correspondent banking fees and the reduction of corporate overnight balances by up to $10 billion. Plus, banks will have to pay to operate two sets of cross-border payment systems in parallel during this transition.

"The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Banque de France today announced the successful completion of a wholesale cross-border payment and settlement experiment using multiple central bank digital currencies (mCBDCs). The experiment between the two central banks, supported by J.P. Morgan's Onyx, simulated cross-border transactions and cross-currency transactions involving a Singapore dollar CBDC and a euro CBDC, and was conducted using a permissioned, privacy-enabled blockchain based on Quorum technology." For more detail see: https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2021/monetary-authority-of-singapore-and-banque-de-france-break-new-ground-in-cbdc-experimentation

The BIS Innovation Hub's (BISIH's) Hong Kong Center and its partner central banks published the results of its pilot testing of its mBridge multi-CBDC (mCBDC) multi-currency cross-border transaction platform. Over six weeks in 2022, the platform was put to the test through a pilot involving real-value transactions among 20 commercial banks from four different jurisdictions. Over $12 million was issued on the platform, facilitating over 160 payment and FX payment-versus-payment (PVP) transactions totaling more than $22 million in value.

This BIS paper explores how interoperating multi-central bank digital currency (mCBDC) arrangements could reduce cross-border payment inefficiencies. This could be especially relevant for emerging market economies poorly served by the existing correspondent banking arrangements. Yet competing priorities and history show that these benefits will be difficult to achieve unless central banks incorporate cross-border considerations in their CBDC development from the start and coordinate internationally to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Project mBridge is a prototype real-time cross-border payments platform based distributed ledger technology (DLT) and multiple central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) developed by the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and four central banks. The first pilot is now complete, with over $12 million in value issued onto the platform facilitating over 160 cross-border payments and FX transactions totaling more than $22 million in value between 20 participating commercial banks over the course of a month. A detailed report will be released in October.

The Singapore branch of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the South African Reserve Bank have completed prototypes for a common cross-border payments platform using multiple central bank digital currencies (mCBDCs). Project Dunbar proved that financial institutions could use CBDCs issued by participating central banks to transact directly with each other on a shared platform. This has the potential to reduce reliance on intermediaries and, correspondingly, the costs and time taken to process cross-border transactions.

The BIS Innovation Hub published a brochure for its mBridge project with a comprehensive list of use cases contributed by 22 commercial banks across four different jurisdictions (China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates). The mBridge trial platform has shown that CBDCs can substantially increase the speed of cross-border payments from multiple days to near real-time, while also reducing cost. The project is using an agile and iterative development approach, plus a modular bricks design.

""Equipped with the lessons from the pilot and earlier phases of the project, Project mBridge will continue its work," the report said. "This includes the technology-build and testing - including improving on existing functionalities and adding new functionalities to the platform - in an effort to move from the current pilot phase towards MVP and eventually a production-ready system.""

BIS mBridge cross border CBDC project has 23 central banks, IMF and World Bank as observers The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub published an update on its mBridge multiple central bank digital currency (multi-CBDC) common platform for wholesale cross-border payments. Project mBridge supports real-time, peer-to-peer, cross-border payments and foreign exchange transactions using wholesale CBDCs, focusing on the use case of international trade. In 2022, a pilot involving real corporate transactions was conducted on the platform among participating central banks, selected commercial banks and their corporate customers in four jurisdictions. A minimum viable project (MVP) will be launched in the middle of next year. The project is a collaborative effort of the BIS Innovation Hub, four founding central banks and over 25 observing members

This paper proposes a decentralized CBDC that is controlled by many central banks together or countries in the world. It is only for international transactions between member countries. While domestic transactions continue to use the national currency of each country. A decentralized CBDC can explore the advantages of digital technologies more deeply than the centralized ones by making reconciliations between central banks in real-time. Furthermore, this system provides international liquidity for all (member) countries in the world sustainably and free of charge. This system eliminates global imbalances, makes the exchange rate more stable, and so makes the whole international monetary system naturally more stable. In doing so, the system does not require economic integration so that all countries in the world may join without many conditions.

"mBridge stands out as an attractive choice for developing countries, especially due to its capability to support economic sovereignty, facilitate integration with existing financial infrastructure, and garner geopolitical support from BRICS countries. However, this does not diminish the value and importance of the SWIFT project, which, with its focus on interoperability and a long track record in the global payment system, provides a solid foundation for countries preparing to transition to more advanced and complex technologies."

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Project mBridge is accepting value added products and new use cases as it reaches minimum viable product stage (MVP). The project aims to explore multi-central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform shared among participating central banks and commercial banks, built on distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enable instant cross-border payments and settlement. The project was launched in 2021 by the BIS Innovation Hub, in collaboration with the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The Saudi Central Bank is now joining mBridge as a full participant. There are also now more than 26 observing members.

"As part of the Saudi Central Bank's (SAMA) pursuit to build a robust and innovative cross-border payments infrastructure in collaboration with various international financial institutions and central banks, SAMA has joined the Bank for International Settlements' (BIS) mBridge project as a participant in the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) platform."

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) will collaborate with several central banks to explore how instant cross-border payments could be improved using a modular foreign exchange component combined with settlement in wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Project Rialto will explore a new automatic FX settlement layer using wholesale CBDC as a safe settlement asset that could be deployed for interlinked instant payment systems or digital asset systems. Project Rialto is named after the famous bridge in Venice which connects two sides of the Grand Canal.