Building cross-border payments for an interconnected world

Cross-border payments are at the heart of seamless interconnectivity in the ASEAN region. By 2030, Southeast Asia’s payments market is expected to hit US$2 trillion in transaction value, according to a Google-led report published in The Business Times1. The domestic payments sector within ASEAN countries is an integral part of their respective regional digital economies, brimming with innovation, opportunity, and competition. To enhance regional as well as international collaboration for cross- border payments, Elevandi hosted a roundtable during the Singapore Fintech Festival. Representatives from central banks and regulatory bodies, banks, and fintechs were invited to share insights and perspectives. During the panel, there was a major focus on how interoperability across different domestic payment clearing systems can change the narrative of cross-border payments and ultimately contribute to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2025 vision of financial integration. Given the several initiatives in ASEAN towards economic cooperation, multilateral connectivity for scaling cross-border payments regionally and internationally was another key area of focus. The panel was co-moderated by Jo Yeo and Raihan Zulimran, Head of Payments Development and Data Connectivity, MAS, and Team Lead, Next Gen Payments, MAS respectively. There were 20 panelists and a number of observers from markets within the Asia, EU, and US regions. The key themes emerging from the discussions centered around interoperability amongst domestic clearance systems, real-time value transfers, technology, and sandboxes. It was also evident during the dialogue that for any cross-border payment vision to materialize, there needs to be an establishment of uniform regulatory frameworks. Project Nexus and Project Dunbar were cited as exemplar models which could be used to inform future multilateral arrangements.