BIS opens call to private sector participants for Project Agorá
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is seeking to collaborate with financial institutions from the private sector to explore the application of tokenisation in wholesale cross-border payments.
BIS calls on the private sector to join Project Agorá
The bank’s search for participants includes, but is not limited to, a focus on commercial banks, deposit-taking institutions, financial market infrastructures and critical service providers, with applications open until 31 May. The final list of participants is expected to be announced on 9 August.
The call pertains to Project Agorá, an initiative launched by BIS in April to “test the feasibility of a multi-currency ledger for cross-border payments”, according to the private sector application form.
The Project will examine solutions and proposals capable of consolidating tokenised commercial bank money and tokenised wholesale central bank money in a public-private programmable core financial platform.
“This could enhance the functioning of the monetary system and provide new solutions using smart contracts and programmability, while maintaining its two-tier structure,” the bank’s call for participants continues.
Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Bank of Mexico, Swiss National Bank, Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are also currently subscribed to the initiative, with the Institute of International Finance (IIF) acting as the convener and intermediary of its intended private sector participants.
The final cohort will be expected to contribute their technical expertise in aiding the platform’s design, as well as in testing various use cases regarding cross-border payments within a two-tiered banking system.
Cecilia Skingsley, head of the BIS Innovation Hub, said at the launch last month that Project Agorá seeks to address the “complex systems” required to integrate numerous payment systems, accounting ledgers and data registries.
“We will not just test the technology, we will test it within the specific operational, regulatory and legal conditions of the participating currencies, together with financial companies operating in them.”
