NGP’s launch represents a coordinated commitment by five central banks – India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand – to rewrite the rules of global payments. Incorporated as a not-for-profit company in Singapore, NGP is now the operational heart of the Nexus scheme. It formalizes the end of the experimental phase and marks the beginning of scalable, real-time, and inclusive international transactions.
This is not just about technological enablement; it is about reshaping economic accessibility. Cross-border payments have long suffered from fragmentation, high costs, and delays. Nexus targets all four pain points identified in the G20 Roadmap – speed, cost, transparency, and accessibility – and does so through a single standardized connection point.
Traditionally, connecting domestic Instant Payment Systems (IPS) across borders required custom-built, bilateral links, which are inefficient, costly, and difficult to scale. Nexus flips that model. It offers a "connect once, reach many" framework where each IPS operator integrates just once with Nexus and gains access to a global network.
This concept, while elegant, required years of deep collaboration, not only in technical standards but in governance and trust. With the release of the Nexus blueprint in July 2024 and the accumulated lessons from pilot phases, the system is now ready for real-world use.
Unlike many innovation projects that stall at pilot stages, NGP is equipped with robust institutional scaffolding. It will be governed by its founding central banks, and its daily operations will be delegated to an external Nexus Technical Operator (NTO).
This balance between central oversight and private-sector execution is key. It enables NGP to remain agile, responsive to innovation, and capable of scaling globally while being grounded in public trust and regulatory backing.
Benjamin Lee, seconded from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will serve as interim director, an appointment that ensures continuity and institutional memory as NGP transitions from setup to scale.
Critically, the BIS will step back from ownership and management roles, serving only as an advisor during the handover phase. This transition ensures that NGP operates independently yet benefits from the BIS’s institutional wisdom. Meanwhile, global stakeholders like the European Central Bank and Bank Indonesia are participating as observers, underscoring the platform’s growing legitimacy and global reach.
NGP isn’t just for the Asia Pacific region; it is designed as a multilateral infrastructure with ambitions to expand to other jurisdictions. With each new participant, the value of the network grows exponentially, and the vision of seamless, inclusive, cross-border payments comes closer to reality.
For individuals and businesses alike, this could mean cheaper remittances, faster settlements, and more transparent international transfers. For policymakers and regulators, it presents a tested, scalable model that meets the pressing need for cross-border payment reform.
For the fintech sector, it unlocks opportunities to innovate on top of a dependable, real-time global payment rail. And for central banks, it provides a neutral, public-good infrastructure that strengthens monetary sovereignty while fostering cooperation.
The launch of NGP is not just the culmination of a successful experiment, it is the start of a new global standard in cross-border payments. As the world continues to globalize, the need for interoperable, fast, and affordable payment systems becomes more urgent. Nexus may well be the foundational layer that powers the next generation of international financial infrastructure.