Cross-border payments have long been hindered by fragmentation, high costs, and slow processing times. Nexus Global Payments (NGP), a not-for-profit established in Singapore in March 2025, is now turning the vision of seamless international payments into reality. Building on the work of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH) Singapore Centre, NGP is leading the charge to connect domestic instant payment systems (IPS)[1] worldwide, making cross-border transactions as fast and easy as local transfers.
The Challenge: Fragmented Cross-Border Payments
For years, sending money across borders has been a complex and costly process due to several persistent challenges. High transaction fees and hidden costs arise from multiple intermediaries and opaque foreign exchange markups. Slow processing times result from time zone mismatches, manual compliance checks, routing through correspondent banks, and regulatory fragmentation. Additionally, end-users face limited transparency and tracking in traditional networks and restricted access in emerging markets. These issues collectively hinder efficiency, increase risk, and constrain global commerce. While solutions such as closed-loop networks and bilateral links between IPS have emerged, their limited scalability and complexity have inhibited widespread adoption.
The Nexus Vision and Blueprint
Domestically, IPS have transformed the way money moves, enabling convenient 24/7 transfers within seconds. Bringing their benefits to international transactions is the vision that inspired the launch of Project Nexus by the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre in 2021.
At the heart of Nexus is a standardised framework that enables IPS to communicate and interact seamlessly. Through a single integration with the Nexus platform, each IPS can connect to all others in the network, dramatically simplifying connectivity and laying the foundation for a truly global instant payment ecosystem.
This initiative aligns with the G20’s goals of making global transfers faster, cheaper, more transparent, and accessible.
Over four phases of work, Nexus has been refined through a collaborative effort between the BISIH and pioneering jurisdictions. Key outputs of completed Project Nexus phases to date include …
[1] Also referred to as Fast Payment Systems (FPS)
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