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Institutions & ETFs · 1 min read

Central Banks Complete Cross-Border FX Settlement Trials Under Project Meridian

The Bank of England, MAS, and Bank of Thailand tested synchronized payment-versus-payment settlement across RTGS and DLT networks ahead of a planned 2028 UK interface.

Editorial oversight: Julian Mercer, Chief Editor
Neutral

At a glance Announced

What happened
The Bank of England, MAS, and the Bank of Thailand published results from Project Meridian FX APAC on Nov. 13, 2026, testing cross-border FX synchronization.
Why it matters
The trial proved central bank money can settle atomically across distinct RTGS and DLT systems, addressing over $1.4 trillion in daily FX settlement risk.
Who is affected
Participating central banks, wholesale settlement operators, and financial institutions executing cross-border currency trades.
What's next
The Bank of England plans to deploy a live synchronization interface in 2028.
Primary source
Bank of England News: The Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Bank of Thailand: Project Meridian FX APAC

Key points

  • Bank of England, MAS, and Bank of Thailand concluded Project Meridian FX APAC testing synchronized FX settlement across RTGS and DLT systems 1.
  • Partior deployed a Synchronisation Operator prototype enabling atomic payment-versus-payment and multilateral net FX settlement 1.
  • The Bank of England plans to deploy an operational synchronization interface by 2028 1.

The Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Bank of Thailand published findings on Nov. 13, 2026, from Project Meridian FX APAC, a joint initiative examining cross-border foreign exchange settlement 1. Delivery partner Partior built and tested a prototype Synchronisation Operator layer designed to coordinate payments across disparate central bank infrastructures 1. The trial simulated payment-versus-payment (PvP) and multilateral net FX settlements across test versions of both conventional Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) platforms and Distributed Ledger Technology systems 1.

Multi-Currency Synchronization and Settlement Risk

The project focused on mitigating principal settlement risk, which occurs when one leg of a currency swap settles without the counterparty fulfilling its obligation 1. According to the 2025 Bank for International Settlements Triennial Central Bank Survey cited in the report, over $1.4 trillion, representing 10% of daily global FX transactions in April 2025, carried unhedged settlement risk 1. The Synchronisation Operator prototype linked transfers atomically so that simultaneous legs either complete concurrently or terminate without loss of funds 1. The trial also demonstrated that multilateral net FX settlement can support commercial banks in optimizing liquidity usage by netting transactions across jurisdictions 1.

The experiments covered multiple time zones and currencies, with observer contributions provided by the Reserve Bank of Australia and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas 1. Beyond technical plumbing, the participating central banks published their legal and policy analyses regarding operational cross-border synchrony 1. The Bank of England stated that these findings will inform its planned live synchronization interface, scheduled for deployment in 2028 1. Further research stages will evaluate additional currency pairs, jurisdictions, and practical legal arrangements 1.

Questions this story raises

What was Project Meridian FX APAC?
Project Meridian FX APAC was a joint experiment conducted by the Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Bank of Thailand to test synchronized cross-border foreign exchange settlement across different technical platforms [1].
How does a Synchronisation Operator work?
A Synchronisation Operator functions as a coordination layer across settlement systems to ensure atomic transactions, meaning linked transfers complete together or not at all [1].

Sources

  1. [1] The Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Bank of Thailand: Project Meridian FX APAC — Bank of England News, November 13, 2026

Written by Basis Desk's newsroom system from the primary sources above and machine-verified against them before publication. Market figures marked "at the time of writing" come from live exchange data. Report an error: corrections@basisdesk.news · corrections policy.

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