The five central bank partners involved in Project Nexus—an initiative by the Bank for International Settlements aimed at connecting domestic real-time payment systems across borders—are set to launch a governing body, the Nexus Scheme Organisation (NSO), to manage the project’s implementation in Singapore.
Project Nexus aims to create a centralized connection for instant payment networks worldwide, utilizing ISO 20022 message specifications and a series of purpose-built APIs.
After a successful proof-of-concept collaboration between the Eurosystem, Malaysia, and Singapore in 2022, the BIS has worked with the central banks and international payment systems operators of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to assess the project’s model.
In July 2024, the partners expressed their intent to move towards live implementation, with the establishment of the NSO marking a significant milestone in this process. While the BIS will not oversee the NSO’s operations, it will provide technical advisory support. In this advisory role, the BIS has released extensive technical documentation that includes implementation guides for participants in the Project Nexus scheme, alongside specifications for ISO 20022 message formats and APIs.