Key Takeaways
- BIS Project Agorá will test real-money blockchain payments with JPMorgan and UBS.
- ECB, Fed, and BIS aim to cut cross-border payment delays using tokenized ledgers.
- Project Agorá keeps sanctions and AML checks inside existing banking rails.
Project Agorá Links Central Banks on Unified Payment Ledger
The Bank for International Settlements is preparing to test a blockchain-based system for cross-border payments using real money, marking a significant step in efforts to modernize global banking infrastructure.
The Basel-based institution said that Project Agorá, a joint initiative with central banks and private financial firms, will move into a trial phase involving actual transactions. The project was first announced two years ago, with seven central banks and more than 40 regulated institutions.
The goal is to improve the way money moves between countries. Today’s cross-border payments often rely on several intermediaries, which can make transfers slower, more expensive, and harder to track. Project Agorá is designed to test whether tokenization can reduce those frictions without weakening safeguards against sanctions violations or money laundering.
“It will benefit the entire financial system,” said Tim Adams, head of the Institute of International Finance, which helped bring together the private-sector participants.
The group includes some of the world’s most influential central banks and financial institutions. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Canada, and the Bank of England are involved. Major private-sector participants include JPMorgan, UBS Group, Deutsche Bank, Mastercard, and Visa.
Unified Ledger Model to be Linked With Correspondent Banking
At the center of the test is a unified ledger model developed by the BIS. The system brings tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits onto a shared platform. In theory, that could allow banks in different jurisdictions to settle transfers in seconds.
The settlement process is designed in such a way that required transaction details are confirmed in advance, and all bank balances are updated at the same time once the payment is executed.
“Once you know you have everything to run the transaction, you settle it in one go,” said Andrea Maechler, deputy general manager of the BIS.
While the prototype uses distributed-ledger technology, the BIS is not trying to replace the correspondent banking system. Instead, the project keeps it as the foundation for global payments.
That distinction matters. Correspondent banking remains the main channel for international bank transfers and carries the compliance tools used to enforce sanctions and screen for illicit finance. The BIS said Project Agorá aims to preserve those controls while improving speed and efficiency.
The BIS said the prototype has shown that tokenization can address inefficiencies in wholesale cross-border payments in a safe and secure way. No firm timeline has been set for a full rollout. Adams said the participants are more focused on getting the system right than rushing toward launch.
If successful, Project Agorá could become one of the clearest examples yet of how blockchain technology is being absorbed into traditional finance. The experiment may also shape how banks, payment networks, and central banks think about the next generation of global settlement.
