Three Southeast Asian central banks widen stablecoin settlement pilot to Ripple, Visa, and Mastercard
DeFi & Yields ·
The monetary authorities of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have expanded a joint cross-border initiative, known as BLOOM, to bring in Ripple, Visa, and Mastercard for settlement using regulated stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits.
The expanded effort, reported by The Block, centers on BLOOM, a program run by the three central banks to test cross-border settlement rails that rely on regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits rather than traditional correspondent banking. Adding Ripple, Visa, and Mastercard signals an effort to connect central-bank-backed infrastructure with payment networks and blockchain-based settlement tools already used in commercial and consumer transactions.
The initiative frames tokenized bank deposits and regulated stablecoins as parallel settlement instruments, suggesting the central banks are testing which form of digital money can move value across borders most efficiently while remaining within regulatory oversight. Coverage from wublockchain.xyz confirms the same expansion, describing the collaboration as bringing fintech firms into a central-bank-led settlement structure spanning the three countries.
The involvement of Ripple points to blockchain-based payment infrastructure being tested alongside the card networks' existing rails, while Visa and Mastercard's participation indicates an interest in linking tokenized settlement with established payment processing systems used across Southeast Asia. The multi-country, multi-company structure suggests the pilot is designed to test interoperability between different stablecoin and deposit-token systems rather than settling on a single technical standard from the outset.
Details on transaction volumes, a timeline for broader rollout, or which specific stablecoins and tokenized deposit products will be used in the expanded phase have not been disclosed. It also remains unclear whether the expansion moves BLOOM from a testing phase toward live cross-border payment flows, or what role, if any, other regional central banks might play as the initiative develops.