IWB signs settlement agreement with ASEAN Payments Alliance

IWB has signed a settlement agreement with the ASEAN Payments Alliance, giving its member central banks and treasuries direct access to IWB's settlement network through the Singapore hub.

Under the agreement, payments between alliance members and IWB participants elsewhere will settle on the same day in USD, SGD, EUR and JPY, without routing through third-party correspondent banks.

The two organisations will also share operational information on incidents and align their sanctions screening procedures, so that a payment cleared in one network is not delayed unnecessarily in the other.

Technical integration begins in the third quarter, and the first live payments are expected before the end of the year. Alliance members will be onboarded in stages, beginning with those that already hold IWB wallets.