Project Agorá processed about CHF800,000 in real-value cross-border payments during a July test of tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits. The Bank for International Settlements said the exercise involved 28 participating institutions and central banks across Asia, Europe and North America.
What Project Agorá tested
Project Agorá is exploring whether tokenized central bank money and commercial bank deposits can operate on a shared programmable platform for wholesale cross-border payments. The July exercise moved real funds between participating institutions, extending the project beyond earlier simulations.
The work used ISO 20022 payment and reporting messages, including pacs.008, pacs.009 and camt.053. That standards-based approach matters because tokenized settlement systems still need to communicate with existing bank processes. It also connects with broader efforts to improve international money movement, including Coinbase and Thunes’ stablecoin payout expansion.
Real-value test results
| Test measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Total value | Approximately CHF800,000 |
| Transactions | 30 |
| Scenarios | 17 |
| Transaction range | CHF9,000 to CHF125,000 |
| Average settlement time | About 80 seconds |
| Currencies | CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, KRW and USD |
The settlement speed is encouraging, but it should not be read as a direct comparison with production payment rails. The BIS said the prototype was not connected to real-time gross settlement or core banking systems, which means operating conditions were controlled. Similar implementation questions will shape other public-sector digital-money projects, including the digital euro pilot planned for 2027.
What comes next for tokenized payments
The BIS first published Project Agorá’s shared-platform report on May 27. Real-value testing followed in July, and the project page added a related video on October 23. These are separate dates: the October posting did not mark the start of the payment test.
The project now involves eight central banks and more than 40 private-sector institutions, according to the current BIS page. The core challenge is whether the model can preserve regulatory controls, interoperability and liquidity efficiency when connected to production systems. Market-infrastructure providers are pursuing related modernization work, including Cboe Clear’s U.S. clearing expansion.
The primary sources are the BIS Project Agorá page and its shared-platform report.
Elsy kanana
Elsy Kanana is a financial and cryptocurrency journalist at FusionMarketNews, covering digital assets, blockchain technology, financial markets, and emerging fintech trends. Her reporting focuses on market movements, regulatory developments, and on-chain analytics, delivering clear, data-driven insights to readers worldwide.
