Project Orchid
Building on the rich findings from Global CBDC Challenge 2021, Project Orchid aims to build the foundational digital infrastructure and blueprint required for a future digital currency ready-platform.
What are CBDCs?
CBDCs are a digital form of central bank money. There are two main variants of CBDCs:
- Wholesale CBDCs, which are solely for use by a select group of financial institutions to settle large-value transactions among themselves and the central bank, just like reserves today.
- Retail CBDCs, which are for use by the general public for payments. These are the digital counterpart to the notes and coins that central banks issue today.
Key Speeches
- "Decentralised Finance and the Future of Money" - Panel Remarks by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Andrew Crockett Memorial Lecture by Mark Carney via Video Conference on 28 June 2021
- “Innovation in Central Banking – Seizing Opportunities, Securing Our Future” - Remarks by Ms Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director (Corporate Development), Monetary Authority of Singapore, at BIS Innovation Summit on 25 March 2021
- "E-Payments in Asia: Regulating Innovation and Innovative Regulation" - Keynote Address by Ms Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Central Bank Payments Conference on 26 June 2018
Development Initiatives
What's New
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Launch of Cross-border QR Code Payments Connectivity between Singapore and Malaysia
MAS and Bank Negara Malaysia launched a cross-border QR code payment linkage between Singapore and Malaysia.
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BIS’s Project Nexus prototype successfully links Eurosystem, Malaysia and Singapore payment systems; partners in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to work towards wider payment connectivity
The BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre and partners today announced the successful connection of the test versions of three established IPS using the Nexus model and outlined the next phase of the project to work on the real-world potential of a multilateral network that could be scaled up across more countries.
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Panel Discussion with Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the International Symposium on Central Bank Independence on 10 January 2023
At the International Symposium on Central Bank Independence, Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, spoke on the panel titled "Central bank independence and the development of payments and central bank digital currencies".
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UK and Singapore deepen collaboration in FinTech and strengthen financial cooperation
The United Kingdom (UK) and Singapore held the 7th UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue in Singapore today. Both countries renewed their commitment to deepening the UK-Singapore Financial Partnership that was agreed in 2021, discussed mutual priorities such as sustainable finance, FinTech and innovation, and agreed on further cooperation in these areas.
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Central Banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand Seal Cooperation in Regional Payment Connectivity
Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Bank of Thailand have agreed to strengthen and enhance cooperation on payment connectivity to support faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more inclusive cross-border payments.