The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Deutsche Bundesbank today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding collaboration on cross-border digital asset settlement. This cooperation has the potential to enhance international financial transactions, including those between Singapore and Germany.
Under the MoU, MAS and the Deutsche Bundesbank agree to collaborate on technological and financial innovation by:
• fostering the development of new settlement solutions that reduce the costs and processing times of cross-border transfers between Singapore and Germany; and
• promoting common standards for cross-border payments, foreign exchange and securities flows involving tokenised assets in order to enhance interoperability between different digital asset platforms.
This partnership builds on MAS’ Project Guardian [1] , a collaborative initiative between policymakers and the financial industry to enhance liquidity and the efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation.
The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Singapore FinTech Festival, by MAS Deputy Managing Director (Markets and Development) Leong Sing Chiong, together with Deutsche Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz and Director General Digital Euro Alexandra Hachmeister. Both central banks agreed that this collaboration would augment the strong economic and financial cooperation between Singapore and Germany.
Mr Leong said, “Through this new partnership with the Deutsche Bundesbank on digital asset settlement, we hope to enhance financial connectivity in ways that benefit individuals, corporates and financial market participants in both our economies. This also lays the groundwork for future digital financial infrastructure.”
Welcoming the partnership with MAS, Mr Balz said, “The partnership with MAS reflects our shared commitment to advancing new financial infrastructures. Together, we aim to foster technological innovation and set new standards for efficiency and interoperability in international payments and securities transactions.”
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[1] Project Guardian was launched by MAS in May 2022. The Deutsche Bundesbank has been a member of the Guardian Policymaker Group since November 2024.