Tokenization for cross-border payments: Canada joins BIS project
The Bank of Canada announced today it is joining the Bank for International Settlements' Project Agorá, an initiative exploring how tokenization could improve wholesale cross-border payments.
Unified ledger for faster payments
The project has successfully tested the feasibility of a multi-currency unified ledger that enables atomic settlement of cross-border wholesale transactions.
The Agorá prototype combines tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank money on a programmable platform with the aim of improving the speed, efficiency, transparency and accessibility of international payments.
The initiative will continue to test the prototype and examine its operation within existing legal and regulatory frameworks, including rules on settlement finality and anti-money laundering regulations.
Project Agorá brings together central banks and private sector financial institutions to experiment with next-generation payments infrastructure.
Canada's role in global payments
The Bank of Canada's participation aligns with its research focus on payments evolution and how emerging technologies can support a more efficient financial system.
Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers noted that 'Tokenization has the potential to make these payments faster, cheaper and more efficient and secure.'
The global project involves seven other central banks, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bank of England, and Bank of Japan, alongside over 40 financial institutions.