(AGENPARL) – Thu 24 April 2025 Press release
24 April 2024
Project Meridian FX shows possibility of crossborder linkages for FX transactions between
wholesale payment infrastructures
Project Meridian FX proves that wholesale payment infrastructures, such as real-time gross
settlement (RTGS) systems, can be interoperable via new technologies for FX transactions
The joint project between the Bank for International Settlements, Bank of England, Banque de
France, Banca d’Italia, Deutsche Bundesbank and European Central Bank explored
synchronising foreign exchange (FX) transactions
It demonstrated that FX transactions could be settled across jurisdictions and different types of
infrastructures
The Bank for International Settlements and its central bank partners have successfully demonstrated
how wholesale payment infrastructures, such as RTGS systems, can interoperate with each other for
FX transactions via new technologies.
The project involved synchronising the settlement of FX transactions, using distributed ledger
technology, so that the transfer of one leg of the transaction (such as buying a currency) happens only
if the transfer of the other (such as selling another currency) occurs.
Meridian FX sought to address some of the actions called for in the Group of 20 cross-border
payments roadmap. For example, reducing foreign exchange settlement risk using payment-versuspayment transactions and establishing realistic links between the wholesale payment infrastructures of
different countries. Synchronisation could also mitigate some of the liquidity risk and credit risk
challenges in the foreign exchange market.
The project connected a synthetic version of the UK RTGS system to three experimental Eurosystem
interoperability solutions: DL3S (developed by the Banque de France), TIPS Hash-Link (developed by
the Banca d’Italia) and the Trigger Solution (developed by the Deutsche Bundesbank).
European Central Bank
Directorate General Communications
Sonnemannstrasse 20, 60314 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged.
Press release / 24 April 2024
Project Meridian FX shows possibility of cross-border linkages for FX transactions between wholesale payment
infrastructures
Combined with the results of previous work undertaken by the BIS and the Bank of England, Meridian
FX shows that synchronisation can be agnostic to both the asset or fund of the transaction involved
and the technology of the ledgers, highlighting its potential use in other markets.
Insights gained from the project will inform the work programmes of the participating central banks.
European Central Bank
Directorate General Communications
Sonnemannstrasse 20, 60314 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged.