Applications for the Agorá Central Bank Tokenization Project End in Two Weeks

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has opened the call for applications from private sector institutions to participate in Project Agorá, a pioneering tokenization initiative to improve the efficiency of wholesale cross-border payments. The project, which involves seven central banks, offers a limited application window that will close on May 31. Results will be announced in early August.
Project Agorá: A Public-Private Partnership
Applicants include financial institutions and financial market infrastructures (FMIs) with accounts at participating central banks, as well as key payment service providers. This tight timeline requires potential bidders to make rapid decisions.
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The Agorá project is a significant public-private partnership with private sector funding through participation, a model reminiscent of the private sector founding of Swift. The BIS and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) coordinate the project, but participants are not required to be IIF members. Central banks in Europe (France), Japan, Korea, Mexico, Switzerland, England, and the US, represented by the New York Innovation Center (NYIC), are participating in the project. To participate in the project in the EU, applicants must have an account with any Eurosystem central bank.
The project aims to explore the use of tokenized deposits and central bank money for cross-border payments using smart contracts. The four main areas of work will focus on business requirements, technology, legal aspects, and communications.
Evaluation Criteria
Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of their global and domestic payments presence, experience in innovative projects and the expertise of their executives. To ensure broad representation, the group of participants must be diverse.
The Agorá project is not just a proof of concept (PoC). The application form emphasizes the intention to go beyond the PoC stage, positioning it as a pilot research project with the potential to revolutionize cross-border payments in the long term.
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Applicants are expected to include several institutions already involved in related initiatives. These projects include the Regulated Liability Network in the UK, the Regulated Settlement Network in the US, and the wholesale DLT settlement trials in the EU. Given the participation of seven central banks, the number of applicants is expected to be large.
For private sector institutions wishing to play a pioneering role in creating the future of cross-border payments, the Agorá project provides a unique and timely opportunity.