Key facts
- Partitor built the prototype Synchronization Operator that linked the three settlement systems, the joint release said.
- The central banks said multilateral net settlement could cut liquidity needs while keeping settlement coordinated.
- Coordinated settlement survived every failure scenario tested, including failed payments and temporary system failures, the researchers reported.
- The trials did not cover long outages, varying operating hours or actual commercial transactions, the report said.
- The Bank of England restated a 2028 target for a live synchronization interface; Singapore and Thailand announced no similar pledge.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas took part as observers.
The Bank of England, Singapore and Thailand completed cross-border foreign exchange settlement trials under Project Meridian FX APAC, according to a joint release dated November 13, 2026. The tests ran payment-versus-payment settlement, in which both sides of a currency exchange settle together to reduce the chance of a partial payment, across traditional real-time gross settlement networks and systems using distributed ledger technology.
Technology company Partitor built a prototype Synchronization Operator that coordinated transfers between the three settlement systems. The central banks also tested multilateral net settlement, where banks can defer payment commitments while transferring payments; their results indicated this could lower liquidity needs while keeping settlement coordinated.
The technical report put coordinated settlement through failure scenarios including failed payments, lack of funds and temporary system failures, and the researchers found it survived all of them. The trials were not broad enough to cover long outages, varying hours of operation or actual commercial transactions.
After the experiments, the Bank of England restated its plan to launch a live synchronization interface in 2028. Neither Singapore nor Thailand announced a similar commitment under the project. The Reserve Bank of Australia and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas took part as observers.
The project's policy report examined settlement finality, operator oversight and cross-border accountability, and noted that a coordinated technical process alone does not create legally binding settlement between different national payment systems. Bank of England executive Tom Mutton said synchronization in cross-border FX transactions could help reduce risks and improve efficiency.
The release followed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's launch of 24-hour tokenized deposit settlement under Project Ensemble, which involved 12 banks and 20 industry participants. Separately, Standard Chartered outlined plans for digital asset custody covering cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenized assets under Singapore's regulations.
The Global Foreign Exchange Committee's survey, published in September and covering 49 financial institutions, showed an average FX settlement obligation of $14.4 trillion, 8% higher than in October 2025. Payment-versus-payment transactions accounted for $4.8 trillion of that, while $1.2 trillion was settled without steps to reduce settlement risk; 84% of those unprotected trades could not qualify for PvP settlement.