Stablecoins· Regulation & supervision

Bank Negara Malaysia and Bank of Thailand join MAS-led BLOOM initiative on cross-border settlement in digital money

Illustration: cryptobanking.news editorial art (AI-generated, abstract). Not a depiction of any institution or product.Primary source: Monetary Authority of Singapore (mas.gov.sg)

cryptobanking.news Editorial · AI-assisted, source-verified23 October 2026T1RegulatorAPAC

Key takeawaysFact

1MAS announced on 23 October 2026 that Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand have joined BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency) as policymaker members, to develop common approaches for the cross-border use of digital money, including tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins.
2P.
3Morgan, Kasikornbank, OCBC, Standard Chartered and UOB.
4Work will focus on acceptance and settlement across jurisdictions, interoperability across digital money arrangements, and programmable controls such as identity verification, sanctions screening and transaction controls.

Stablecoins
Tokenized deposits
Regulation

Executive summaryFact

MAS announced on 23 October 2026 that Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand have joined BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency) as policymaker members, to develop common approaches for the cross-border use of digital money, including tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins. Participation also expanded to Airwallex, Mastercard, Maybank, Monee, Nium, Ripple, ShopeePay, Visa and the World Bank Group, alongside existing participants including DBS, J.P. Morgan, Kasikornbank, OCBC, Standard Chartered and UOB. Work will focus on acceptance and settlement across jurisdictions, interoperability across digital money arrangements, and programmable controls such as identity verification, sanctions screening and transaction controls.

Primary source: Monetary Authority of Singapore ↗

As financial institutions and jurisdictions develop different digital money use cases, including for tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins, greater coordination will be important to support its effective use across borders.

— Monetary Authority of Singapore, verbatimString-matched against the live page 2026-10-23

Key factsFact

Event: Initiative expansion
Jurisdiction: APAC
Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore
Source tier: Tier 1 · Regulator / central bank

Who is affectedFact

Financial institutions, payment networks and technology providers participating in BLOOM across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand; the release lists the participants in Annex A.

Key datesFact

23 Oct 2026MAS announces BNM and BOT as BLOOM policymaker members

More from the sourceFact

“Through BLOOM, MAS, BNM and BOT will partner industry players across their respective jurisdictions to develop common approaches for the cross-border use of digital money, including how different forms of digital money can be accepted, exchanged and settled across institutions, networks and jurisdictions.”
MAS media release

“Through the development of implementation frameworks and alignment of commercial and operating arrangements, BLOOM will reduce the need for financial institutions to establish separate arrangements with each counterparty or market, lowering implementation cost and improving time to market.”
MAS media release

“The Bank of Thailand welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on BLOOM to help inform forward-looking regulatory approaches for tokenised money, particularly in cross-border payments and wholesale settlement.”
Dr Daranee Saeju, Deputy Governor, Bank of Thailand

Verbatim from Monetary Authority of Singapore✓ string-matched against the live page 2026-10-23

Why it matters for banksAnalysis

MAS says BLOOM's implementation frameworks are meant to reduce the need for financial institutions to set up separate arrangements with each counterparty or market, so banks in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand working on tokenised deposits or stablecoin settlement now have a three-central-bank forum shaping cross-border acceptance, interoperability and compliance controls.

Editorial analysis based on the facts above and the sources below; not legal or investment advice.

What remains uncertain

The release does not give a timeline or specific deliverables for the implementation frameworks.

Sources and evidence

PrimaryMonetary Authority of Singapore ↗2026-10-23quote matched 2026-10-23

Evidence types: how we classify sources.

Evidence

Confidence: High Primary source (regulator / official record); quote string-matched against the live page.
Quote verified: 2026-10-23 17:36 UTC
Archived snapshot: SHA-256 bcf001aec3e311d6… · fetched 2026-10-23 · Wayback Machine copy ↗
Source type: Primary Monetary Authority of Singapore ↗

Change log (1)

2026-10-23 Newsroom 2026-10-23 eve: +MAS/BNM/BOT BLOOM cross-border digital money (Tier 1, MAS media release); bank-negara-malaysia, bank-of-thailand entities; verify snap (b20c97d)

Full evidence record · How we label confidence

AIAI-assisted: summary and analysis were drafted with AI from the primary source and are the editor’s responsibility. AI-drafted from the primary source; quote string-matched by scripts/verify.mjs. Methodology · Corrections · Report an error

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