MAS, BNM, and BOT Join Forces to Revolutionize Cross-Border Digital Money Settlement

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has expanded its BLOOM initiative, bringing in Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand as policymaker members. This move aims to standardise how digital money, including tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins, is accepted and settled across borders, directly impacting how financial institutions manage liquidity and cross-border payments in Southeast Asia.

What was announced

BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency) is a public-private initiative designed to advance digital money applications across payments, treasury, and trade finance. The inclusion of the central banks of Malaysia and Thailand marks a significant step toward regional coordination on settlement infrastructure. The initiative has also grown its industry roster to include major players such as Airwallex, Mastercard, Maybank, Monee, Nium, Ripple, ShopeePay, Visa, and the World Bank Group.

The participants will focus on three core pillars: Acceptance and settlement across jurisdictions, Interoperability across digital money arrangements, and Programmable controls. By developing common implementation frameworks and aligning commercial and operating arrangements, BLOOM aims to reduce the need for financial institutions to establish separate arrangements with each counterparty or market. This is intended to lower implementation costs and improve time to market for those using digital money.

The World Bank Group’s participation as a Multilateral Development Bank provides an opportunity to contribute global experience in payment systems modernisation and financial inclusion, bringing the perspectives of developing economies to the initiative. This collaborative approach seeks to apply international standards and jurisdiction-specific supervisory expectations to digital money transactions while allowing for differences in local requirements. The participation of central banks is intended to ensure that public policy and regulatory considerations are integrated into the development of these cross-border approaches.

"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."

Mr Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director (Markets and Development), MAS.

The companies involved

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) serves as Singapore’s central bank and integrated financial regulator. It has been a primary driver of fintech innovation in the region, frequently spearheading initiatives that bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is the central bank of Malaysia, responsible for promoting monetary and financial stability. Its participation in BLOOM follows its ongoing efforts to modernise the Malaysian payment landscape and explore digital money use cases.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) acts as the central bank for the Kingdom of Thailand. Like its counterparts in Singapore and Malaysia, the BOT has been active in exploring central bank digital currencies and digital payment systems to enhance financial stability and efficiency. These three institutions represent some of the most proactive regulators in the Asia-Pacific region regarding digital finance. FF News has tracked the activities of these organisations extensively, with MAS appearing in 81 reports, reflecting its central role in the global fintech ecosystem, while the Bank of Thailand and Bank Negara Malaysia have also been featured for their roles in regional financial development and payment system stability.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s efforts to establish global standards for emerging technologies. Recently, we covered how MAS and RBI Forge New AI Governance Fintech Standards for Global Markets. The region’s attractiveness for treasury innovation was further highlighted when Finmo Opens Global HQ in Singapore to Accelerate AI-Driven Treasury Innovation. Additionally, the infrastructure for digital asset movement in the region is maturing rapidly; we reported that Tazapay Joins Borderless Network to Scale Stablecoin Payouts Across APAC and LATAM, a move followed by the news that Circle to Acquire Tazapay to Scale USDC Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure.

What this means

The expansion of BLOOM signals a shift from isolated digital asset experiments toward a unified regional framework. By involving central banks alongside payment giants like Visa and Mastercard, the initiative addresses the "walled garden" problem that often plagues digital money. For the industry, this puts pressure on legacy correspondent banking networks to evolve or risk being bypassed by more efficient, programmable settlement layers. The real test will be whether these common approaches can reconcile the diverse regulatory requirements of different jurisdictions without diluting the efficiency gains of blockchain-based settlement. It moves the conversation from whether digital money will be used to how it will be governed at an institutional level.