Project Nexus marks a major step forward in cross-border payments. Its multilateral approach boosts payment connectivity, offering greater efficiency and network effects than earlier bilateral links. 

Nexus has strong potential to advance cross-border payments in three areas: global connectivity, enhanced functionality, and future-ready interoperability.

Nexus will launch with India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as founding members, with Bank Indonesia and the European Central Bank as Special Observers. With over 70 instant payment systems worldwide, it has the potential to grow into a global payment utility.

Besides connecting with key economic and trading partners of the existing members, Nexus provides an opportunity for smaller markets to access cross-border connectivity that would be difficult to achieve bilaterally.

Over time, Nexus’s use cases and enhanced functionalities should evolve to meet the future needs of its participants and end users. 

See also: What happened to blockchain?

mute
For example, beyond current account-to-account transfers, Nexus could expand into expanded use cases such as person-to-merchant payments for in-person and e-commerce transactions, leveraging Asean’s growing QR code payment ecosystem. 

Any payment network or scheme, especially one that aims to deliver cost-effective cross-border payments, requires volume and scale to succeed. To scale quickly and stay relevant, Nexus could extend interoperability beyond instant payments to private payment rails with established users and digital asset networks. 

Related stories: