TechFlow news, October 29 — According to Bloomberg, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is considering terminating its cross-border payment pilot project, mBridge. Sources said central banks and finance ministers discussed the matter during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington from October 21 to 22. Previously, Russian President Putin publicly stated that the technology could serve as a tool to circumvent Western sanctions and weaken the dominance of the U.S. dollar.
The mBridge project, led by the BIS Innovation Hub and involving the People's Bank of China (including Hong Kong's Monetary Authority), the Bank of Thailand, and the Central Bank of the UAE, has already entered the "minimum viable product" (MVP) phase. By establishing direct digital connections among participating central banks, the platform enables cross-border payments without relying on U.S. banks, thereby bypassing the traditional correspondent banking system heavily dependent on the dollar. During the 2022 pilot phase, 20 banks from four jurisdictions participated in testing. This year, the BIS further invited private lending institutions to join real transaction trials.
