Standardized hub model connects India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Philippines; aims for 60-second settlement by 2027.

As of April 2026, Project Nexus has moved from proof-of-concept to an operational managing entity, linking five major Asian instant payment systems to eliminate the bilateral complexity that has long slowed cross-border payments. The BIS Innovation Hub handed over Project Nexus to the central banks of India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand in 2024, and those central banks have established a legal entity, Nexus Global Payments, with the intention of taking it into production in 2027, according to the Financial Stability Board's G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments.

The Problem: Fragmented Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure in Asia

Cross-border payments are inherently more complex than domestic ones, requiring coordination among multiple payment service providers (PSPs), currency conversion, and compliance with anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements, as detailed in the BIS Innovation Hub's July 2024 Project Nexus PDF. Each bilateral link between two countries requires separate technical builds, scheme rule negotiations, and legal agreements—a process that scales poorly as more countries join. Per the BIS, each IPS has different technical processes and functionality, and different scheme rules, so the IPS operator and banks and PSPs in the country must make significant changes to their systems before they can start sending cross-border payments through the bilateral link. Each bilateral link also requires complex legal negotiations between IPS operators, central banks, banking associations, and individual banks. The work then must be repeated for each new connection.

Domestic instant payment systems—India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Singapore's PayNow, Thailand's PromptPay, Malaysia's DuitNow, and the Philippines' InstaPay—have transformed local transfers but cannot interoperate cross-border without bespoke connections. The current web of correspondent banks means each intermediary in the chain adds time, cost, and operational friction, as noted by Red Compass Labs in their Nexus analysis. The G20 has made cross-border payment friction a formal priority, setting targets for speed, cost, transparency, and access through its Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, which prioritizes interlinking fast payment systems as a key lever.

How Nexus Works: A Standardized Hub for Instant Payments

Nexus provides a standardized framework that enables independently built instant payment schemes to communicate and translate messages seamlessly. Rather than a payment system operator building custom connections for every new country, the operator makes one connection to the Nexus platform, gaining access to every other connected system—a hub-and-spoke model instead of a mesh of bilateral links, per the BIS Innovation Hub.

The target is to enable cross-border payments that reach their destination in 60 seconds or less, mirroring the domestic instant payment experience. The proof-of-concept phase (2021–2024) involved central banks and IPS operators from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and later India and the European Central Bank, validating that the model is scalable and interoperable beyond the initial five countries.

Number of Integrations (integrations)Source: Orionmano Industries

Governance, Implementation, and Timeline

The five central bank partners—India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—have agreed to establish the Nexus Scheme Organisation (NSO) in Singapore to manage live implementation, according to the BIS Innovation Hub. The BIS Innovation Hub handed over Project Nexus to these central banks, and they have set up a legal entity called Nexus Global Payments. Production is targeted for 2027, with legal and technical implementation work ongoing through 2026, as reported by the Financial Stability Board.

The European Central Bank has announced its intention for the Eurosystem to join Nexus as a special observer, exploring how TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) could link via Nexus. Bank Indonesia is also a special observer, having contributed to earlier phases of the work. The Eurosystem is assessing the potential of TIPS to act as a hub for instant cross-border payments to and from the euro area; if successful, the Eurosystem may join, strengthening the initiative and making TIPS more attractive for other currencies, the FSB's roadmap notes.

Broader Implications for the G20 Roadmap and Future Expansion

Project Nexus aligns with the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, which prioritizes interlinking fast payment systems as a key lever to reduce friction. The BIS and partners have consulted with central banks, standard-setting bodies, and commercial banks globally to ensure Nexus can scale beyond the initial five countries. If successful, Nexus could serve as a blueprint for linking instant payment systems across regions, reducing the need for bilateral agreements, according to The Payments Association's 2026 analysis.

The European Central Bank's exploratory work on connecting TIPS via Nexus signals potential expansion into the euro area. Currency Research notes that over four phases of work, Nexus has been refined through a collaborative effort between the BIS Innovation Hub and pioneering jurisdictions, with a single integration enabling each IPS to connect to all others in the network, "dramatically simplifying connectivity and laying the foundation for a truly global instant payment ecosystem." Red Compass Labs similarly observes that if successful, "Nexus will connect the world's instant payment systems via a central framework, extending their many benefits to every corner of the globe."

The initiative is now poised to become the backbone of instant cross-border payments in Asia and a model for global interlinking, with the 2027 production target offering a concrete milestone for market participants to watch.