2 BLOOM is a public-private initiative that brings together policymakers, financial institutions, payment networks and technology providers to advance the use of digital money in cross-border financial activity. As financial institutions and jurisdictions develop different digital money use cases, including for tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins, greater coordination will be important to support its effective use across borders.
3 The BLOOM initiative therefore aims to deepen engagement between policymakers and the industry on settlement infrastructure and frameworks that promote interoperability for cross-border digital money transactions. It will include how relevant international standards and jurisdiction-specific supervisory expectations can be applied for such transactions, while allowing for differences in local requirements.
4 BLOOM's participation has also expanded to include Airwallex, Mastercard, Maybank, Monee, Nium, Ripple, ShopeePay, Visa and the World Bank Group. Together, the participants
5 Participants will focus on three areas to support the use of digital money across jurisdictions:
a. Acceptance and settlement across jurisdictions. This examines how financial institutions accept different forms of digital money for cross-border transactions, how counterparties contract with one another, and how transactions are ultimately settled across institutions and markets in different jurisdictions.
b. Interoperability across digital money arrangements. This focuses on how different digital money arrangements can operate across networks, infrastructures and borders, including the technical and operational approaches needed to enable interoperability between systems.
c. Programmable controls. This includes safeguards such as identity verification, sanctions screening and transaction controls in digital money transactions.
6 Through the development of implementation frameworks and alignment of commercial and operating arrangements, BLOOM will reduce the need for financial institutions to establish separate arrangements with each counterparty or market, lowering implementation cost and improving time to market. At the same time, the participation of central banks will ensure that public policy and regulatory considerations are taken into account as these approaches are developed.
7 Mr Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director (Markets and Development), MAS, said, "The future of finance will involve multiple forms of digital money operating across different institutions and markets. To fully harness the benefits of using digital money, collaboration among policymakers and industry participants will be needed to address practical issues around acceptance, settlement and interoperability. We welcome the contributions from Bank Negara Malaysia and Bank of Thailand as we work together to support more seamless cross-border financial transactions.”
8 Mr Aznan bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Governor, BNM, said, “The world of payments progresses rapidly. A future where frictionless cross-border payments can be made using multiple digital monies is now closer to a tangible reality than a far-fetched fantasy. BNM looks forward to exploring such a future through the BLOOM initiative with all participating central banks and industry partners.”
9 Dr Daranee Saeju, Deputy Governor for Payment Systems Stability and Financial Services Supervision, BOT, said, “The Bank of Thailand welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on BLOOM to help inform forward-looking regulatory approaches for tokenised money, particularly in cross-border payments and wholesale settlement. The initiative also allows us to carefully explore emerging innovations, while ensuring our oversight remains prudent, proportionate, and responsive to evolving risks.”
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