BIS Begins Real-Value Testing of Tokenized Cross-Border Payments With Central Banks
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is moving blockchain-based cross-border payments from the theoretical stage into live, real-value testing. Project Agorá, a joint initiative involving several major central banks and private financial institutions, will soon begin processing actual transactions using tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Bloomberg reported on March 25, 2025, that the BIS Innovation Hub has secured participation from the Bank of Japan, the Bank of France, the Swiss National Bank, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, among others. The project aims to address longstanding inefficiencies in cross-border settlement, which the BIS estimates costs the global economy over $120 billion annually in fees and delays.
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What Project Agorá Aims to Solve
Current cross-border payment systems rely on a chain of correspondent banks, each adding time and cost. Tokenization — representing deposits as programmable digital tokens on a shared ledger — could allow near-instant settlement with fewer intermediaries. Project Agorá tests whether central banks and private lenders can operate on a unified platform without compromising monetary sovereignty or financial stability.
According to the BIS, the pilot will simulate high-volume wholesale payments, including foreign exchange trades and securities settlements, using both tokenized commercial bank money and central bank reserves. The goal is to determine whether a hybrid model can reduce settlement risk and improve transparency.
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Central Banks and Private Firms Join Forces
Beyond the central banks, several global financial institutions have signed on to test the infrastructure. The BIS has not disclosed the full list of private participants, but sources familiar with the project indicate that JPMorgan Chase, UBS, and HSBC are among the firms involved in the technical design phase.
The participation of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is particularly notable, as it signals that U.S. regulators are engaging seriously with tokenized settlement infrastructure despite ongoing debates about the scope of a U.S. CBDC.
Timeline and Next Steps
The BIS expects the real-value testing phase to run through the end of 2025, with a public report on outcomes and technical standards planned for early 2026. If successful, the project could lay the groundwork for a global standard for tokenized interbank payments.
Hyun Song Shin, Head of Research at the BIS, stated in a recent briefing that the institution sees tokenization as a natural evolution of the monetary system, not a replacement for it. “We are not building a separate crypto ecosystem,” he said. “We are improving the plumbing of the existing financial system.”
The initiative arrives as several jurisdictions, including the European Central Bank and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, pursue their own tokenized settlement experiments. Project Agorá is unique in its scope — coordinating multiple central banks and private institutions on a single platform — and in its commitment to testing with real money, not simulated funds.
