Project mBridge experiments with cross-border payments using a common platform based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) upon which multiple central banks can issue and exchange their respective central bank digital currencies (multi-CBDCs).
The proposition of mBridge is that an efficient, low-cost and common multi-CBDCplatform can provide a network of direct central bank and commercial participant connectivity, greatly increasing the potential for international trade flows and crossborder business at large. To test this proposition, a new native blockchain – themBridge ledger – was custom-designed and developed by central banks for centralbanks, to serve as a specialised and flexible platform implementation for multicurrency cross-border payments. Particular attention was paid to modular functionality, scalability, and compliance with jurisdiction-specific policy and legal requirements, regulations and governance needs. The platform design ensures that mBridge adheres to the five overarching CBDC principles emphasised by theCPMI/BIS Innovation Hub/IMF/World Bank report to the G201: do no harm, enhancing efficiency, improving resilience, assuring coexistence and interoperability with non-CBDC systems and enhancing financial inclusion.
