Bank of England and MAS Reveal Project Meridian FX APAC Settlement Findings

By Lauren Towner · 13 November 2026

In brief: The Bank of England, MAS, and Bank of Thailand have released findings from Project Meridian FX APAC, exploring synchronized foreign exchange settlement to reduce risk.

Key facts
Project Name	Project Meridian FX APAC
Primary Partners	Bank of England, MAS, Bank of Thailand
Focus Area	Foreign Exchange (FX) Settlement

Press Release: Bank of England and MAS Reveal Project Meridian FX APAC Settlement Findings | Featured Image by FF News

Quick Summary

Project Meridian FX APAC is a collaborative initiative between the Bank of England, MAS, and the Bank of Thailand exploring foreign exchange settlement. The project aims to improve cross-border payment efficiency and reduce settlement risk through innovative distributed ledger technology and synchronized payment-versus-payment (PvP) mechanisms.

How Does Project Meridian FX APAC Improve Foreign Exchange?

The project focuses on automating FX settlement to reduce the time and risk associated with traditional cross-border transactions. By utilizing synchronized settlement technology, the central banks aim to ensure that the exchange of one currency for another happens simultaneously, eliminating the risk that one party defaults after the other has sent funds. This multi-currency synchronization is a critical step toward a more resilient global financial infrastructure.

What Are the Key Findings for Central Banks?

The collaboration highlights the feasibility of interlinking national payment systems to facilitate seamless FX transactions. Key technical insights include:

Successful testing of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for real-time settlement tracking.
Validation of Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) models across different time zones.
Identification of regulatory interoperability requirements for future APAC-UK corridors.

How Will This Impact Global Liquidity Management?

By streamlining the foreign exchange settlement process, financial institutions can achieve better liquidity management and lower operational costs. The findings suggest that synchronized settlement windows could significantly reduce the amount of capital tied up in "in-flight" transactions, providing a more predictable cash flow for international businesses operating between Europe and the APAC region.

FF NEWS TAKE:

This collaboration between the Bank of England, MAS, and the Bank of Thailand is a major milestone for foreign exchange settlement innovation. While many projects focus on retail CBDCs, Project Meridian tackles the "plumbing" of wholesale finance. By proving that synchronized PvP can work across major global hubs, these central banks are moving the needle toward a faster, safer, and more transparent global FX market that reduces systemic risk.

Frequently asked questions

What is Project Meridian FX APAC?

Project Meridian FX APAC is a joint research initiative by the Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Bank of Thailand. It explores how to improve foreign exchange settlement using synchronized technology to ensure safer and faster cross-border currency exchanges.

How does synchronized settlement reduce risk?

Synchronized settlement, or Payment-versus-Payment (PvP), ensures that the transfer of one currency occurs only if the transfer of the other currency also takes place. This eliminates settlement risk, where one party might fail to deliver their part of the trade.

Which central banks are involved in Project Meridian?

The project is a collaboration between the Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Bank of Thailand. These institutions are working together to interlink payment systems across the UK and the APAC region.