- BIS-backed Nexus initiative moves closer to live launch with new management structure
- Five Asian central banks form Nexus Global Payments to oversee development and expansion
What happened: Nexus transitions to operational phase
Five central banks—India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand—have launched an open procurement exercise to appoint a Nexus Technical Operator (NTO) for Project Nexus, a cross-border payments initiative supported by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). This comes as BIS begins handing over operational responsibilities to a newly formed entity, Nexus Global Payments (NGP), based in Singapore.
NGP will oversee the development, day-to-day operation, and scaling of the Nexus platform, which aims to link domestic real-time payment systems through a centralised network using ISO 20022 messaging and custom APIs. MAS executive Benjamin Lee has been named interim director. The European Central Bank and Bank Indonesia will remain involved as special observers.
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Why it’s important
This marks a critical milestone in the global push for faster, cheaper and more inclusive cross-border payments. Current international transactions are often slow and costly, particularly in emerging markets. Nexus could provide an interoperable framework to address those inefficiencies, starting with Asia but expanding globally over time.
The appointment of a dedicated operator through open procurement also reflects the project’s transition from experimental phase to full-scale implementation. If successful, Nexus could serve as a multilateral model for other jurisdictions, complementing public and private efforts such as SWIFT’s gpi or Ripple’s blockchain-based solutions.
