BIS Pilot Settles $1M Cross-Border Payments in 80 Seconds

Woofun AI reports that the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) concluded Project Agorá, a pilot involving JPMorgan, Citi, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered, which executed real-value cross-border payments using tokenized money.

The transaction volume reached $1 million (CHF 800,000), spanning six currencies: the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and South Korean won. This scope demonstrates the protocol’s ability to handle multi-currency flows without relying on traditional correspondent banking rails for each leg.

Woofun AI data shows settlement times averaged 80 seconds for corporate payments, interbank transfers, and foreign exchange settlements. The system utilized tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits, achieving this speed despite lacking direct integration with existing payment infrastructure.

Structurally, the pilot contrasts with private-sector stablecoins issued by entities like Circle (CRCL) and Tether, as well as tokenized assets from asset managers such as tokenized money market funds and private credit funds. While those instruments gain traction in treasury operations, Project Agorá focuses on modernizing the core infrastructure banks use for international money movement.

The mechanism replaces fragmented records at correspondent banks with a shared ledger providing a single record of ownership and payment status. This approach mitigates settlement risk in foreign exchange by enabling simultaneous currency exchange, marking a significant step in wholesale tokenization efforts by central banks and commercial lenders.