Official announcement from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) or participating central banks

BIS Project Agorá Unites 41 Firms, Central Banks in G7-led CBDC Trial for Cross-Border Payments

Sep 16, 2024, 04:46 PM

Project Agorá, an initiative by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has brought together seven central banks and over 41 private sector financial firms, including Visa, Mastercard, and SWIFT, to explore the potential of a unified ledger for cross-border payments. This project aims to make wholesale cross-border payments cheaper, faster, more transparent, and accessible by combining central bank money with digital versions of commercial bank deposits. The G7-led pilot scheme involves the New York Federal Reserve and leading central banks from Europe, Korea, and Japan. The initiative, reported by Reuters, is seen as a significant step towards the adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the tokenization of commercial bank deposits, potentially reshaping international payments.