The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), alongside the Bank of England, Bank of France, Bank of Italy, Deutsche Bundesbank, and the European Central Bank, has successfully demonstrated how wholesale payment infrastructures, such as RTGS systems, can interoperate for FX transactions using distributed ledger technology (DLT).
Through Project Meridian FX, the collaboration synchronised FX settlements so that the transfer of one currency occurs only if the corresponding transfer of another currency happens, significantly reducing settlement risk. At the centre of the initiative is a synchronisation operator — a technology-neutral interface designed to coordinate simultaneous asset exchanges across payment systems.
The project connected a synthetic version of the UK’s RTGS system to three experimental DLT platforms built by Eurosystem central banks: DL3S (Bank of France), TIPS Hash-Link (Bank of Italy), and the Trigger Solution (Deutsche Bundesbank). In each case, the synchronisation operator successfully orchestrated payment-versus-payment (PvP) FX settlements.
Project Meridian FX also explored advanced features like liquidity-saving mechanisms and user-defined transaction rules such as approval limits. Findings showed that synchronisation can work across different assets and ledger technologies, highlighting its potential applications beyond FX, including broader financial market infrastructures.
The BIS states that insights from the project will help shape the future work programmes of the participating central banks as they continue to modernise cross-border payments.