MAS, Bank of Canada begin work to link respective blockchain platforms

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank of Canada have started work on linking their respective blockchain platforms to explore the possibility of instant, 24/7 settlement of cross-border payments transactions, MAS Director Ravi Menon said recently.

Speaking at Singapore FinTech Festival 2018 on November 12, Menon discussed a number of fintech initiatives currently underway at the central bank among other things.

In particular, he emphasized the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the area of cross-border payments and cross-border settlements of assets.

To that end, Menon discussed the two recent developments made in Project Ubin, which the MAS kicked off in 2016 to explore the use of DLT for clearing and settlement of payments and securities.

First, he said, the project team has successfully harnessed blockchain technology for the settlement of tokenised assets, referring to the successful development of Delivery versus Payment (DvP) capabilities in collaboration with the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Secondly, the MAS is working with other central banks to explore faster, cheaper, and more efficient cross-border payments, Menon added. This includes an in-depth study of the inefficiencies of existing international payment systems in collaboration with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England and various commercial banks. He added:

“MAS and Bank of Canada have begun work on linking our respective blockchain platforms to explore the possibility of instant, 24/7 settlement of cross-border payments transactions.”

Menon announced MAS’ collaboration with the Bank of Canada on cross-border payments using blockchain technology last November.