The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has joined “Project Nexus”, a multilateral international initiative to enable instant cross-border retail payments by interlinking domestic Fast Payments Systems (FPSs).
- Nexus is conceptualised by the Innovation Hub of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
- It aims to connect the FPSs of four ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand); and India, who would be the founding members and first mover countries of this platform.
- An agreement to this effect was signed by the BIS and the Central Banks of the founding countries — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Bank of Thailand (BOT), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and RBI on June 30, 2024, in Basel, Switzerland.
- The platform can be extended to more countries, going forward. The platform is expected to go live by 2026.
- Once functional, Nexus will play an important role in making retail cross-border payments efficient, faster, and more cost effective.
