NEW YORK – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's New York Innovation Center (NYIC) today announced that it will participate in an international technical research project that will explore whether the tokenization of central bank money and commercial bank deposits operating on a shared programmable ledger can improve wholesale cross-border payments.
Project Agorá, a new effort led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub in partnership with the Institute of International Finance, will bring together seven central banks and financial institutions from each of their respective jurisdictions to research ways to increase the speed and transparency of international wholesale payments and lower associated costs and risks. The project will focus on overcoming common structural inefficiencies in cross-border payments today related to differing legal, regulatory, and technical requirements, operating hours and time zones, and varying financial integrity controls.
“We look forward to participating in Project Agorá alongside our central banking collaborators and continuing to build on the NYIC’s contributions to the public dialogue on the future of money and payments,” said Per von Zelowitz, Director of the New York Innovation Center.
Including the New York Fed, the seven participating central banks are the Bank of England, Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Bank of Mexico, and the Swiss National Bank. The BIS will issue a call for interest for financial institutions interested in collaborating on the project. The BIS and participating institutions will detail the findings of Project Agorá through public reports.
The NYIC's participation in this project is limited to research and experimentation.
About the New York Innovation Center
The New York Innovation Center (NYIC) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York bridges the worlds of finance, technology, and innovation. Established in 2021 in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, the NYIC generates insights into high-value central bank-related opportunities through research, analysis, and technical experimentation to drive advancements in central banking and enhance the functioning of the global financial system.
