A consortium of central banks has formally established Nexus Global Payments (NGP) in Singapore to manage a new multilateral cross-border payment system.

The founding members are the Reserve Bank of India, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Bank of Thailand.

NGP, incorporated as a non-profit company limited by guarantee, will oversee the operationalisation of the Nexus scheme.

This marks the initiative’s transition from a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) experimental project, started in 2021, into practical implementation.

The Nexus system is designed to simplify international payments by creating a standardised connection point for domestic instant payment systems (IPS), allowing them to link with multiple countries through a single connection.

Following the release of a blueprint in July 2024, the founding central banks are providing the initial capital to build and launch the platform.

They intend to expand participation to other jurisdictions over time.

Benjamin Lee, seconded from MAS, has been appointed as NGP’s interim director until a permanent director is selected.

Concurrent with its formation, NGP has started an open procurement process to appoint a Nexus Technical Operator (NTO).

This external service provider will be responsible for the technical development and day-to-day running of the Nexus scheme.

Further details regarding the NTO selection are available on the NGP website.

The European Central Bank and Bank Indonesia will participate as special observers during this phase.

The BIS will assist with knowledge transfer during the transition until the first live Nexus transaction but holds no ownership in NGP.

Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik