TLDR
- Project Agorá successfully processed CHF800,000 across six currencies using tokenized deposits and central bank reserves.
- JPMorgan, Citi, UBS and 25 public-private institutions completed 30 transactions across 17 tested scenarios overall.
- Average settlement took about 80 seconds despite no direct RTGS or core banking integration phase.
- Trials also covered corporate payments, interbank transfers, intragroup payments, dual-currency transactions and payment-versus-payment settlement scenarios.
- The prototype used ISO 20022 messages to connect with existing banking infrastructure during testing phase.
JPMorgan, Citi, UBS, and 25 other public and private institutions completed Project Agorá trials, processing about CHF 800,000 in tokenized payments across six currencies.
Project Agorá Tests Tokenized Payments Across Six Currencies
The trials processed 30 transactions across 17 payment scenarios. The currencies used were Swiss francs, euros, British pounds, Japanese yen, South Korean won, and U.S. dollars.
Project Agorá tested corporate payments, interbank payments, intragroup transfers, dual-currency transactions, and payment-versus-payment settlement. The project used tokenized commercial bank deposits and tokenized central bank reserves carrying real monetary value.
The transactions used atomic settlement, where both sides of a payment move at the same time. If one side cannot settle, the full transaction does not complete.
The tests recorded an average settlement time of about 80 seconds from start to finish. That result came even though the prototype was not directly connected to real-time gross settlement systems or bank core systems.
Participants also had full visibility into payment status and routing during the tests. Corporate payments could also move directly through the platform, rather than only through bank-to-bank settlement routes.
Banks and Central Banks Join Trial
The 28 participating institutions included JPMorgan, Citi, UBS, BNY, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Mizuho, MUFG, NatWest, Standard Chartered, and TD Bank.
Central bank participants included the Bank of England, Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, and Swiss National Bank. SIX coordinated the transactions, while Kaleido operated the blockchain testing platform.
Around 250 employees worked on the trial across payments, compliance, risk, legal, and technology teams. Their work covered transaction processing, legal checks, controls, and technical testing.
The trial also tested whether tokenized payments could connect with existing banking infrastructure. The prototype interacted with external systems using ISO 20022 payment and reporting standards.
Those standards included pacs.008, pacs.009, and camt.053 messages. These formats are widely used for payment instructions and account reporting across financial institutions.
Tokenized Settlement Moves Closer to Banking Systems
Project Agorá focused on how tokenized deposits and central bank reserves could support faster cross-border payments. The trial covered several jurisdictions and different currency pairs.
The use of tokenized commercial bank deposits allowed payments to represent claims on regulated banks. Tokenized central bank reserves supported settlement using public money within the test setup.
The results point to a possible structure where tokenized payments work alongside existing financial systems. Banks could keep current reporting and messaging standards while testing faster settlement layers.
Cross-border payments often involve delays, limited payment tracking, and several intermediaries. Project Agorá tested whether tokenization can reduce those frictions without removing regulated banks from the process.
The next stage will depend on legal, technical, and policy reviews by participating institutions. Banks and central banks will need to assess how tokenized payment systems can operate safely at larger scale.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
