Five Central Banks Take the Lead on Cross-Border Payments Network
A major shift is underway in Project Nexus—the international effort to create a unified real-time payments infrastructure.
Spearheaded initially by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the project is now entering its operational phase, with five central banks stepping in to take over long-term management.
Project Nexus was built to streamline cross-border payments by linking domestic instant payment systems through a shared architecture. Using ISO 20022 messaging standards and custom-designed APIs, the goal is to allow individuals and businesses in participating countries to send money instantly, securely, and at low cost across borders, as easily as they can domestically.
Following successful technical trials involving central banks from Europe and Southeast Asia in 2022, the BIS has been collaborating with the monetary authorities of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to fine-tune the model. Now, as Nexus prepares for live deployment, responsibility is shifting to a new non-profit entity, Nexus Global Payments (NGP), based in Singapore.
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NGP will be in charge of operating and expanding the network, with initial funding and leadership provided by the five founding central banks: Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Bank of Thailand, and the Reserve Bank of India. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank and Bank Indonesia will maintain involvement as observers.
To support the transition, the BIS will assist with knowledge transfer and technical onboarding until the platform goes live. The next milestone includes selecting a Nexus Technical Operator (NTO) through an open procurement process. This external firm will take over the technical buildout and manage the day-to-day functioning and cybersecurity of the network.
MAS executive Benjamin Lee has been named interim director of NGP while the search continues for a permanent leader to steer the organization through its early stages. Over time, the founding members hope to open participation to more jurisdictions, turning Nexus into a global standard for real-time cross-border payments.
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
