MAS Teases Multi-Currency Payment System for Digital Currencies

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) discussed the creation of a common platform for international payment settlements that will be more efficient than current arrangements.

While there is growing global interest in the issuance of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) for domestic payments, multiple CBDC (m-CBDC) arrangements could lead to a significant improvement in the speed, cost and transparency of cross-border payments, MAS said.

In a blog post on Thursday by Toh Wee Kee, specialist leader (distributed ledger technology), MAS discussed unbundling the digital currency stack to improve governability of m-CBDC networks and create a viable path towards making m-CBDC arrangements a reality.

MAS is partnering with the BIS Innovation Hub and the central banking community on Project Dunbar to design, develop and test new m-CBDC models for cross-border settlement, Toh said in the blog post.

The central bank previously developed a prototype multi-currency wholesale settlement network, which enabled issuance or distribution of different digital currencies on a common network, as part of Project Ubin.

You will soon hear about the commercial launch of a multi-currency payment system for digital currencies, Sopnendu Mohanty, MAS chief fintech officer, said in a LinkedIn post.

We feel strongly about sharing our experience and contribute towards advancing central banks’ interest on m-CBDCs, he added.