The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Singapore Monetary Authority and the South African Reserve Bank announced prototypes for a common platform enabling international settlements using multiple central banks digital currencies have been completed (mCBDCs).
Project Dunbar, led by the Singapore Center of Innovation Hub, has proven this is economically feasible. Financial institutions can trade directly using the CBDC issued by the participating central banks. Each other on a common platform. This will reduce your reliance on intermediaries. Therefore, the cost and time required to settle cross-border transactions. The project consisted of three work lines. One focuses on the high level. Functional requirements and design, and two technical flows developed at the same time Prototypes of various technology platforms (Corda and Partior).
Three key questions emerged from the project: whose entities should be permitted to possess and interact with CBDCs issued on the platform? How can the flow of cross-border payments be made more efficient while yet respecting regulatory distinctions between countries? What governance mechanisms could provide countries with the confidence they need to share key national infrastructure like a payments system?
The project presented realistic answers to these problems, which were proven through the creation of prototypes that demonstrated the technical viability of shared multi-CBDC platforms for international settlements.
The most efficient model for payments connectivity is a shared platform, but it is also the most difficult to establish.” Project Dunbar demonstrated how governance procedures enforced by solid technology means may address important concerns of trust and shared control, setting the groundwork for the establishment of future global and regional platforms.
Project Dunbar has given us invaluable insight into the prospects and challenges of building a shared platform for different CBDCs to improve cross-border payments. Allowing businesses to directly hold and transact in CBDCs from various jurisdictions could decrease the need for intermediaries in cross-border payments, but it would have to be done in a way that ensured the security and resilience of these transactions. While there is certainly more work to be done in terms of considering the viability and design of multi-CBDC platforms, Project Dunbar’s findings give a sound foundation for future research in this area.
The successful completion of Project Dunbar has produced meaningful insights on how a multi-CBDC platform could potentially tackle cross-border payment difficulties space. The project exemplifies the importance of central bank cooperation in fostering economic growth. Next-generation payment infrastructures are being developed.
Project Dunbar is a significant step forward in improving the efficiency of cross-border payments around the world. The groundwork for establishing future-ready payment rails has been laid by the strong collaboration between participating central banks, commercial banks, and technology solution suppliers.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board in collaboration with a Singapore Bank and GovTech, has launched the GovCash to replace cheque issuance for Singaporeans who are unable to use direct bank crediting – so they can receive Government payments1 more quickly and conveniently. Up to 40,000 Singaporeans will be spared from queueing at bank branches to encash some 500,000 cheques annually.
GovCash is designed to be simple and intuitive to use. Singaporeans can withdraw the Government payments in cash starting with over 500 bank ATMs located across Singapore. GovCash is no less secure than receiving payments via cheque. It has adopted the Singpass facial verification technology to authenticate users, including a liveness-detection capability that blocks the use of photographs, videos or masks during the verification process. Singaporeans do not need to have a bank account to use the GovCash service.