Agreement on Project Nexus shared goals

The multilateral platform aims at connecting domestic payment systems.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara and the central banks of Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have come to an agreement on the shared goals for establishing Project Nexus, a multilateral platform aimed at connecting domestic payment systems.

Singapore-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) innovation hub head Maha El Dimachki emphasised on the importance of the five partners’ unified vision in ensuring the project’s success.

Having a shared vision and strategy is vital to the project’s progress and overcoming hurdles, she said.

“You need to ensure that there is a shared vision and strategy, otherwise, there’s really no point as there’s too much divergence,” she told a session at the Bank Negara-organised Sasana Symposium 2024 yesterday.

BIS is the coordinator of Project Nexus.

The Sasana Symposium session titled “Future payment” addressed the multilateral payment connection for Asean, with the next phase of Project Nexus focusing on transitioning the existing Nexus system into an operationally and financially viable model by 2025.

El Dimachki said negotiations concerning Project Nexus are more complex than bilateral agreements as it is a multilateral platform involving five countries.

There are issues to be resolved including sheme negotiations, dispute resolution and elements to ensure that the cross-border payments are safe,” she said. — Bernama