Singapore Expands International Cooperation on Cross-Border Digital Asset Settlements

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) joined the Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency (BLOOM) initiative as policy participants. The 3 regulators will work with financial and technology companies to develop common approaches to using digital assets in cross-border transactions, including their acceptance, exchange, and settlement between financial institutions across jurisdictions.

BLOOM participants will focus on 3 main areas:

1. Cross-border digital asset acceptance and settlement. Developing mechanisms that allow financial institutions to accept various digital assets in international transactions, establish agreements with counterparties, and conduct final settlements between institutions and markets across different countries.

2. Interoperability of digital money systems. Establishing technical and operational standards for interactions between payment networks, settlement infrastructure, and digital money platforms operating across jurisdictions.

3. Programmable controls. Integrating identity verification, sanctions screening, and automated transaction monitoring directly into digital money settlement processes.

One of BLOOM’s expected outcomes is the development of standardized mechanisms for executing cross-border transactions and establishing common commercial and operational terms for participants. This will reduce the need for financial institutions to negotiate separate agreements with individual counterparties or for specific markets.

According to MAS, standardizing these mechanisms will help reduce the cost of implementing settlement solutions and accelerate the launch of new financial products. Central bank participation will also allow regulatory requirements to be incorporated directly into infrastructure development.

MAS also announced an expansion of the commercial and institutional participants involved in BLOOM. New participants include:

• Mastercard and Visa, international payment networks;

• Airwallex, a global FinTech company providing solutions for cross-border payments, foreign exchange transactions, and corporate financial management;

• Maybank, Malaysia’s largest banking group by assets;

• Monee, a FinTech platform offering digital financial services;

• Nium, a global FinTech company specializing in cross-border payment and money transfer infrastructure;

• Ripple, a U.S. FinTech company developing institutional-grade blockchain solutions for international payments, digital asset custody, and stablecoin settlements;

• ShopeePay, a digital wallet and payment service operating across Southeast Asian markets;

• World Bank Group, an international group of development institutions that finances projects in developing countries and supports the modernization of financial infrastructure.

The BoT is also actively involved in the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Project mBridge. The central bank participates in developing the platform for international settlements using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The volume of cross-border transactions processed through the platform exceeded $55 billion in early 2026.