A group of the world's leading central banks and more than 40 major commercial banks are intensifying tests of one of the most watched digital payments projects in the world, as the race to update—and master—the international financial architecture intensifies.
The Agorá project, as it is known, is led by the Bank for International Settlements and involves the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as well as the leading central banks of Europe, Korea, Mexico and Japan, whose currencies account for the bulk of global payments.
Currently, international transactions flow through a global network of correspondent banks, but they can be slow and expensive when there are multiple links in the chain or when they involve less-traded currencies from developing countries.
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The BIS's deputy general manager, Andrea Maechler, described the decision to initiate user testing of the Agorá platform as ‘an important milestone’ for the project, which has been drawing increasing attention recently.
Global authorities have long sought to make international payments faster and cheaper, and the Financial Stability Board, with a G20 mandate, has made this one of its top priorities this year.
Although not a direct rival, Agorá is often compared to another international payments project called mBridge. The BIS had also previously overseen mBridge, but unexpectedly withdrew at the end of 2024, leaving China effectively in control.
“Tokenization is shaping the future of global finance,” Maechler said.
“Atomic settlement could be a watershed for international payments in a digital age,” she added, referring to the ability of digital technology to approve payments instantly and simultaneously.
Tim Adams, director of the Institute of International Finance, based in Washington, which is coordinating the contribution of the commercial banks, explained that the work was moving from the theoretical phase to how it could operate in the real world.
“Tokenization has the potential to reshape the way value moves, but only if it can be effectively integrated into governance, compliance and risk frameworks in which regulators and markets can trust,” Adams said.
Although the U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the idea of a digital version of the dollar, the Agorá platform focuses on interbank payments in the so-called wholesale market, rather than those made by consumers in stores, cafés or online.
The new testing phase is expected to last about six months, after which progress will be reported to decision-makers who will then describe what more needs to be done for a formal launch to be possible, if deemed desirable.
One of the probable next steps could be the inclusion of several other central banks and currencies in the project, probably those already in the Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) system, such as the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars and the major Scandinavian currencies.
The SWIFT global financial messaging network, which is also working on its own blockchain-based revision, is also part of the current group of financial institutions involved in the project.
