The BIS Innovation Hub and central banks are testing CBDCs for international settlements.
The Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, together with the central banks of Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa, are joining forces to test the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for international settlements.
Project Dunbar: Collaboration for International Settlements
Led by the Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore, Project Dunbar aims to develop prototypes of shared platforms for cross-border transactions using multiple CBDCs. These multi-CBDC platforms will enable financial institutions to directly transact with each other using digital currencies issued by participating central banks, eliminating the need for intermediaries and reducing the time and cost of transactions.
Technology for CBDC Development
The project will collaborate with various partners to develop technical prototypes on different distributed ledger technology platforms. It will also explore different governance and operational models that would enable central banks to share CBDC infrastructures, benefiting from collaboration between public and private sector experts across different jurisdictions and areas of operation.
Vision for Global Payments
The work of Project Dunbar will explore the international dimension of CBDC design and support efforts to implement the G20 roadmap for improving cross-border payments. The results, which are set to be published in early 2022, will inform the development of future platforms for global and regional settlements. Technical prototypes of shared platforms, developed in collaboration with various technology partners, will be showcased at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2021.
Expectations and Perspectives
“Project Dunbar brings together central banks with extensive experience and unique perspectives in CBDC projects, as well as ecosystem partners at advanced stages of technical development of digital currencies. We believe that our work on multiple CBDCs for international settlements will open new possibilities in this next phase of CBDC experimentation and lay the foundation for global payment connectivity,” said Andrew McCormack, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore.
