CBDCs Can Cut Cross-Border Remittance Costs In Half: BIS Report

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published a report highlighting the benefits of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), particularly in reducing the cost of cross-border payments.

According to the report published on Tuesday entitled “Inthanon-LionRock to mBridge: Building a Multi-CBDC Platform for International Payments”, CBDCs can reduce the transaction volume of cross-border payments by 3-5 working days to seconds.

The said statement is part of the conclusions from the second phase of the Inthanon LionRock project, in which the central banks of China, the United Arab Emirates and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are involved.

“The prototype shows a significant increase in cross-border transfer speeds from date to second as well as the potential to reduce some of the core cost components of correspondent banking,” the report said.

As noted in the report, based on the results of the second phase prototype, PwC estimates suggest potential for a 50 percent reduction in the cost of cross-border payments.

The BIS report also notes that the speed and cost advantages of CBDCs can be even more significant in countries where there are no strong correspondent banking relationships.

After the completion of the second phase, the project now known as the mCBDC Bridge will move into the third phase, which will include further pilot studies and the creation of a possible roadmap for large-scale tests.

Related: IMF, World Bank and BIS advocate digital currencies from central banks at the G20 (CBDCs )

The mCBDC Bridge project is one of many multi-center digital currency projects as the focus seems to be shifting to more collaboration in the field of national digital currencies.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa recently announced a joint CBDC initiative.

These joint efforts are also advocated by organizations such as the BIS and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as more beneficial in the current financial landscape, particularly in the context of the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies.

In fact, the BIS has consistently advocated CBDCs as a countermeasure against the rise in cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in global payments.