Multilateral corridor connecting Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand aims to cut cross-border costs via single-hub integration.

The High Cost of Cross-Border Payments

For years, sending money across borders has been a complex and costly process due to several persistent challenges. High transaction fees and hidden costs arise from multiple intermediaries and opaque foreign-exchange markups. Slow processing times result from time zone mismatches, manual compliance checks, routing through correspondent banks, and regulatory fragmentation. End-users face limited transparency and tracking in traditional networks and restricted access in emerging markets (Source 4). These issues collectively hinder efficiency, increase risk, and constrain global commerce. While solutions such as closed-loop networks and bilateral links between instant payment systems (IPS) have emerged, their limited scalability and complexity have inhibited widespread adoption (Source 4).

Bilateral IPS interlinkings, such as the PayNow-UPI corridor between Singapore and India launched in March 2023 and the PayNow-PromptPay link between Singapore and Thailand active since 2021, demonstrate the feasibility of cross-border instant payments. However, each connection requires a separate, custom-built integration—a model that does not scale beyond a handful of pairs. As Swift notes in its analysis of interoperability models, markets have seen "a number of bilateral interlinking initiatives" in Asia, but each pairing demands its own rulebook, technical specifications, and governance (Source 5). The cost and complexity of building and maintaining these bespoke links limit the number of corridors that any single IPS operator can realistically pursue.

How Nexus Works: A Single Integration to Reach All

Project Nexus solves the scalability problem by replacing bilateral spaghetti with a central hub. Nexus is designed to standardise the way that IPS connect to each other. Rather than a payment system operator building custom connections for every new country that it connects to, the operator can make one connection to the Nexus platform. This single connection allows a fast payments system to reach all other countries on the network (Source 3). Nexus could significantly accelerate the growth of instant cross-border payments.

The technical blueprint, commercial model, and governance framework were developed by the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre and validated with central banks, standard-setters, IPS operators, and commercial banks (Source 2). The framework relies on ISO 20022 messages and API specifications, which are necessary to meet international standards and facilitate scalability for future participants (Source 3). At the heart of Nexus is a standardised framework that enables IPS to communicate and interact seamlessly. Through a single integration with the Nexus platform, each IPS can connect to all others in the network, dramatically simplifying connectivity and laying the foundation for a truly global instant payment ecosystem (Source 4).

This initiative aligns with the G20's goals of making global transfers faster, cheaper, more transparent, and accessible (Source 4). The BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures has highlighted the interlinking of IPS as a key aim under the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, and Nexus as a priority action that could have a significant impact on the speed, cost, transparency of, and access to cross-border payments (Source 2). Under the Nexus model, each instant payment system connects once to a central framework, gaining access to all other connected systems—a dramatic simplification compared to the bilateral alternative (Source 6).

Five Founding Countries and the Path to Live

The five central bank partners are Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Bank of Thailand (Source 2). These institutions, along with the BIS Innovation Hub, have been working on Nexus since 2021. A proof of concept between the Eurosystem, Malaysia, and Singapore succeeded in 2022, demonstrating that the model could work across different IPS architectures (Source 3).

In July 2024, the five partners declared their intention to move towards live implementation (Source 3). The Nexus Scheme Organisation (NSO) was established in Singapore in March 2025 to manage the live system (Source 3, Source 6). In line with its mandate to explore the development of public goods for the central banking community, the BIS will not own or manage any of the NSO's activities, but it will play a technical advisory role (Source 3). The BIS has published detailed technical documentation covering the implementation guides for each type of participant in the Project Nexus scheme, along with ISO 20022 message and API specifications (Source 3). The go-live is expected in 2026 (Source 1, Source 6).

Number of Participating Countries (countries)Source: Orionmano Industries

If Nexus reaches its 2026 go-live target, it will provide a scalable template for other regions to follow, potentially linking dozens of instant payment systems worldwide and accelerating the G20's goal of faster, cheaper cross-border payments. The five central bank partners will have proven that a single integration to a central hub can replace the expensive, labour-intensive model of bilateral links. For businesses and consumers in Southeast Asia and beyond, the payoff would be measured in lower fees, near-instant settlement, and greater transparency in cross-border transactions.