Malaysia and Thailand, together with Singapore, are working to facilitate smoother cross-border digital payments. The central banks of the three countries will jointly establish common rules for regulated stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits.

This measure is expected to help financial institutions reduce delays in cross-border transfers and settlements of digital funds, as well as lower implementation costs.

Malaysia and Thailand join Singapore's stablecoin promotion initiative

The Monetary Authority of Singapore ( MAS ) announced on October 23, 2026, that the Bank of Malaysia ( BNM ) and the Bank of Thailand ( BOT ) have joined its BLOOM programme as policy-making members.

BLOOM is the abbreviation for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, and Multi-currency, and it was launched in October 2025. The purpose of this initiative is to bring together policymakers and financial institutions to jointly study how to use digital currencies across different countries and payment networks.

With the addition of Malaysia and Thailand, three central banks will collaborate with industry participants to establish common methods for the cross-border acceptance, exchange, and settlement of regulated stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits.

The Three Kingdoms seeks more convenient digital payments

This collaboration focuses on a major challenge in cross-border payments: different countries and financial institutions may use their own independent systems and rules to process digital funds.

BLOOM will study how settlements can be completed between research institutions and the market, as well as how different digital currency networks can achieve interconnectivity. The plan also aims to reduce the need for banks and payment institutions to establish separate arrangements for each counterparty in each market.

This may reduce implementation costs and help financial institutions launch cross-border payment services more quickly. However, the announcement did not confirm that shared stablecoin payment services would be launched immediately.

Stablecoin transfers will be subject to security checks.

Three central banks will also collaborate with industry participants to establish safeguard measures such as identity verification, sanctions screening, and transaction control. The goal is to support cross-border digital fund transfers while complying with international standards and regulatory requirements of various countries.

The Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Aznan, bin, Abdul Aziz, stated that payment methods using various forms of digital currencies are becoming increasingly realistic. "The world of payments is developing rapidly," he said, and added that Bank Negara Malaysia looks forward to exploring smoother cross-border payments through BLOOM in collaboration with other central banks and industry partners.

For Malaysia and Thailand, joining this initiative provides a pathway to participate in shaping the cross-border use of regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The next step is to establish a common framework for settlement and interoperability, rather than launching a new digital currency.