The Bank of Korea has introduced a concept for a unified-ledger-based payment platform designed to settle tokenized financial assets and payments within a single digital infrastructure. The initiative highlights growing efforts by major central banks to modernize financial settlement systems as blockchain-based securities and digital financial instruments gain traction.
The development was discussed at the Bank of Korea’s 2026 Payment Systems Conference on November 11, which focused on payment infrastructure innovation and policy challenges in digital finance. Representatives from the Bank of England, Nexus Global Payments, and the Central Bank of Brazil also presented their respective approaches to modernizing payment networks.
The discussions highlighted two different strategies for integrating blockchain technology into financial infrastructure. While South Korea is examining a unified ledger that combines asset transfers and payments, the United Kingdom is developing a model that connects its existing central bank payment network with external distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms.
The Bank of Korea’s proposed unified-ledger model aims to enable tokenized financial assets and money to be traded and settled within a single infrastructure, potentially simplifying transactions between financial institutions.
Bank of England Advances Synchronized Settlement
Andrei Pustelnikov, who leads wholesale settlement innovation experiments at the Bank of England, presented the British central bank’s synchronized settlement approach. The model connects the central bank’s existing payment infrastructure with external platforms handling tokenized assets.
The system is designed to ensure that the transfer of a digital asset and its corresponding payment occur simultaneously. This mechanism could reduce settlement risks associated with transactions in which one party transfers an asset without receiving payment or sends funds without obtaining the agreed security.
The Bank of England maintains that central bank money should continue to serve as the foundation of financial settlement even as the underlying technology evolves.
The institution is testing tokenized securities settlement with 18 organizations, including the London Stock Exchange, with live implementation targeted for 2028. It also plans to publish operational and regulatory guidelines in 2027.
Additionally, the Bank of England intends to participate in Project Agora, an international initiative involving the Bank of Korea and other major central banks. The project explores the issuance and operation of tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits from multiple countries through shared infrastructure.
Nexus Project Connects Six Asian Payment Networks
Cross-border payments and smaller transactions were another major focus of the conference. Andrew McCormack, chief executive of Nexus Global Payments (NGP), presented the Nexus Project, which aims to connect the real-time payment systems of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
The initiative is designed to allow participating countries to facilitate international transfers through a common platform rather than developing separate cross-border payment networks.
The Nexus Project aims to simplify international remittances by connecting six Asian countries through interoperable real-time payment infrastructure, with a target launch in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Such connectivity could reduce operational complexity for participating financial institutions and improve the efficiency of international payments, although its broader impact will depend on implementation and participation across the six markets.
Brazil’s Pix Demonstrates Central Bank Payment Infrastructure
The Central Bank of Brazil presented its experience with Pix, an instant payment system introduced in 2020 and operated directly by the central bank.
Pix supports round-the-clock transfers and both online and offline payments. By 2025, it accounted for 56% of Brazil’s small-value payments, overtaking credit cards and other payment methods. Transaction volumes reached 79.8 billion during the year, representing a 25% increase from 2024.
Jose Vicente Matos Santana, a team leader at the Central Bank of Brazil, identified broad participation from banks, fintech companies and other payment providers, alongside free consumer access, as important factors behind Pix’s adoption.
The central bank has also been strengthening transaction limits and mechanisms for returning funds lost through fraud as it responds to growing cybersecurity and financial crime risks.
Central Banks Face Growing Tokenization Challenges
The different approaches presented at the conference reflect a broader challenge facing financial regulators as stocks, bonds and other traditional assets increasingly move onto blockchain networks.
Tokenized securities require reliable settlement infrastructure capable of coordinating asset ownership transfers with payments. Central banks must therefore determine how private blockchain platforms can interact with existing financial systems while preserving the credibility of central bank money as the final settlement instrument.
The Bank of Korea indicated that it was reviewing international experiences and private-sector developments to determine how South Korea’s payment and settlement infrastructure should evolve.
The competition between unified-ledger systems and synchronized settlement models could influence future standards for tokenized securities, institutional payments, and cross-border financial transactions.
As central banks continue testing different technological approaches, their decisions could shape how financial institutions and fintech companies participate in emerging digital asset markets.
